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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 6/21/2016 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 dli GL J , Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, June 21, 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 21,2016 CALL TO ORDER 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. 16-294 91ST AVENUE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT BIOGAS PROJECT Staff Contact and Presenter: Craig A. Johnson, P.E., Director, Water Services Staff Presenter: Ron Serio, P.E., Deputy Director, Water Services Mr. Johnson introduced Ron Serio, Deputy Director, Water Services, who will be doing the presentation. He also introduced Dennis Porter, Assistant Water Services Director for the City of Phoenix and Jim Bier, with Amaresco, and said they were available to answer questions, if needed. Mr. Johnson said staff is asking for City Council direction authorizing the City to receive and accept proceeds from the sale and recovery of biogas at the joint-owned facility. Mr. Serio said today's discussion is about a proposed biogas facility at the jointly owned 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant. He provided a short summary about how the process will work. He explained the gas is currently just being burned and this project will divert the gas to a processing facility for reuse. He provided information about the SROG partnership. He said SROG stands for Sub-Regional Operating Group, and the partnership was established in 1979. This partnership includes Mesa, Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. Sewer interceptors and the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant are shared. Phoenix operates and maintains facilities on behalf of SROG. Glendale's ownership share is 6.5%. Mr. Serio provided information about the wastewater treatment process with the biogas project introduction. He explained that digester gas is a byproduct of wastewater treatment. Some gas is currently used as boiler fuel to heat the digesters. Excess gas is burned in gas flares. The objective is to sell excess digester gas as a renewable green energy commodity to create a positive revenue stream and reduce the plant's carbon footprint. Mr. Serio explained a plant in San Antonio has used this same process since 2010. He provided aerial photographs of where the site will sit and the pipeline for this project. Mr. Serio next discussed the responsibilities of the parties for this biogas project. He said Ameresco owns the facility and the pipeline and will purchase the biogas. They are also responsible for the design, construction, funding, operation and maintenance of this project. He said the responsibilities of the 91st Avenue WWTP cities include delivering the biogas, leasing property .and easements, maintaining existing flares and providing access to utilities. The projected project revenue includes base revenue of $600,000 to $1 million per year, with total revenue of $1.2 to $2.1 per year. The 20 year total revenue City of Glendale Page 1 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 is estimated at $32.2 million. Glendale's share of revenue is about 6.5% or $79,000 to $130,000 per year, or$2.1 million over 20 years. Mr. Serio said the benefits of this project include reuse of digester biogas currently wasted by flaring to the atmosphere, a reduced carbon footprint, and a reduced amount of air pollution emitted. Additional project benefits include the potential future use of cleaned gas on site for emergency power, revenue from the sale of renewable green energy, and positive public perception. Mr. Serio explained some of the challenges are the market value of gas may go down and reduce project revenue, the project is conditional on not affecting tax exempt bond status, wastewater sludge will be committed, and gas rights will be committed. Mr. Serio explained the timeline begins with signing the contract in July 2016 and ends with the biogas facility online in the summer of 2018. Councilmember Turner asked when will the agreement to purchase the excess gas be completed. Mr. Serio said Phoenix is entering into the agreement between Phoenix and the gas company and Ameresco will enter into the agreement with Kinder Morgan. Mr. Bier with Ameresco said the agreement has not been signed to date, but this gas is very valuable. He said selling the gas is not going to be a problem. He said this is renewable natural gas and it is extremely valuable. Councilmember Turner asked about the city's liability if the market for natural gas falls through the floor. Mr. Bier said there is no risk for the cities and Ameresco is taking all the risk. He said the base revenue is guaranteed to the cities no matter what. He said the project will still work at that base amount. Councilmember Turner said he was concerned about future legal battles eating up the city's portion of the revenue in the future. Mr. Bier said this technology was cutting edge technology 30 years ago, but the technology discussed today is renewable natural gas and the market is very mature. Mr. Serio said they are not trying to create this product. He said the gas exists and is just being burned. This project filters, cleans and reuses the gas, rather than just letting it burn. Mr. Johnson said initially staff was going to ask Council for support in signing the contract, but after review by the Attorney's Office, the risk lies with Phoenix on the contract itself. Staff is asking for City Council to provide direction establishing a resolution to accept the fees and profits that come from the sale of the gas. He said the city is not even a third party tied to the contract so if something goes wrong with the contract, the City will not be asked to pay. The City can only go from zero, which is what it is getting now,to a profit for the sale of the gas. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the facility would be sold to Ameresco. Mr. Serio said the site is going to be leased to Ameresco, and they will own the equipment that is there. Phoenix will provide a site lease for the term of the project and an easement for the pipeline to get out of the facility. He said when the project is done; City of Glendale Page 2 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 Ameresco will remove its equipment and restore the site to its original condition. Councilmember Tolmachoff clarified that the cities will retain ownership of the facility. Mr. Serio said yes. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if only a pipeline would need to be added to the facility to extract the fuel from the site, and asked who would be doing that. Mr. Serio said yes, the biogas developer will build and operate the pipeline and will be responsible for making sure it is compatible with the Kinder Morgan pipeline. He said they are also responsible for finding the customers who are willing to buy it and pay the fees to Kinder Morgan in order to get that accomplished. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to know if Glendale will retain its 6.5% ownership stake in the facility. Mr. Serio said that will never change. Mayor Weiers clarified with the pipeline; there will also be a scrubber and other items that go along with that. Mr. Johnson said that was correct. Councilmember Aldama asked if the City was purchasing any equipment at all. Mr. Serio said no. Councilmember Aldama asked what happens to the flares if the City is not burning the gas anymore. Mr. Serio said the flares will be idle, but will be continuously tested to make sure they are ready in case the plant shuts down. In that case, the gas will just go to the flares, so they have to stay operational. Councilmember Aldama asked if there are any utility savings from not using the flares that the City could consider as revenue. Mr. Serio said there would be some revenue savings, but it would be very little. Councilmember Malnar asked if the land where the pipeline will be built is all owned as part of the current operation. He also asked if the joint partnership would be responsible for that. Mr. Serio said the land is owned by SROG, but towards the end of the pipeline, Kinder Morgan has control of that land. He said that land will be addressed in a separate agreement between Ameresco and Kinder Morgan. Mayor Weiers wanted to confirm that Glendale didn't even have to vote on this for the project to happen, and said they are only voting on this to accept the potential revenue. Mr. Johnson said that is correct, and said the city does not have to vote to take part in signing the contract. Staff just needed Council approval to accept revenue from the project. City of Glendale Page 3 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 Mayor Weiers said they could do this,even if the Council chose not to. Mr.Johnson said yes. Mayor Weiers said that makes it pretty easy. Mayor Weiers said there was a consensus to move forward with this. 2. 16-300 COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: ILLEGAL DUMPING IN ALLEYS Staff Contact: Jack Friedline, Director, Public Works Staff Presenter: Michelle Woytenko, Deputy Public Works Director Mr. Friedline said this item is for Council to provide guidance regarding illegal dumping pursuant to a Council item of special interest from Councilmember Aldama, as well as citizen participation in closing alleys. He said the presenter is Michelle Woytenko, Deputy Public Works Director. Ms. Woytenko said city staff reviewed this item and she recognized those staff members who participated in this process. She provided some background information and said Glendale has 23 miles of alleys, and the alleys were originally designed for the installation of public utilities and garbage/bulk item pickup. Ms. Woytenko provided several photographs of examples of illegal dumping in alleys. She said it is difficult for staff to collect this debris in the alleys. She said Code Compliance does not track enforcement activity in the alleys as they have also found it is difficult to enforce this illegal dumping. She explained illegal dumping costs the city about $150,000 annually for Public Works including about $106,000 annually in right of way maintenance crews to clean the alleys. Ms. Woytenko discussed several options available. The first option is to abandon the alleys, and the adjacent properties would gain the land that constitutes the alley. Enforcement and maintenance of this area would shift to the property owners and the property owners would be free to move the fences if they chose to do so. There would be a high cost to relocate utilities and this may be prohibitive. Staff is not recommending this option. Ms. Woytenko explained a second option is to limit access to the alleys and relocate refuse and bulk trash collections to the curbside. The City would install lockable, moveable gates at the alley entrances, and provide locks to residents, utilities and city staff for access. The cost of this option is about $5,000 per gate, two per alley, and $50 per household for a new refuse container. She explained no trespassing signs would be posted and enforced. She said Mesa used a plan similar to this to gate their alleys and it had a positive impact on reducing illegal dumping, restricting access and reducing crime. Ms. Woytenko provided a picture of the proposed gates at the end of the alleyways. She explained staff looked at wrought iron gates, but found them to be cost prohibitive both at installation and for maintenance. Regular chain link gates offered ease at installation and maintenance with high visibility for enforcement. Ms. Woytenko said staff is recommending a pilot program for gates at two alleys in the Ocotillo District with a high frequency of illegal dumping reported. She explained there will be a comprehensive public outreach program, including mailers to property owners and door hangers. There will also be neighborhood meetings with representatives from the Police Department, Public Works and Code Enforcement. Staff will also send out surveys before and after the project for feedback. The approximate cost of this will be $22,000. The timeline for this pilot program would begin in July 2016 with mailers and door hangers, neighborhood meetings and initial surveys in August 2016, new containers delivered in September 2016, gate installation in October 2016, post implementation City of Glendale Page 4 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 surveys in November 2016 and January 2017, and post implementation reporting in February 2017. She said staff can prioritize those alleys with a high rate of illegal dumping and come forward with an annual CIP budget request for the remainder of this project. Mayor Weiers asked where the$5,000 per gate came from. Ms. Woytenko said the first gates will be more expensive because of the initial design. She said it is a ballpark estimate that staff came up with and they will come up with a concrete design and bid for estimates if this is approved. Mayor Weiers asked if the gate project would go out for bid. Ms.Woytenko said yes it would go out for bid. Mayor Weiers said it was just a gate. Mr. Friedline said they did receive an estimate and would bid this through the City's procurement program. He said he agreed with Mayor Weiers that it was just a fence. Mayor Weiers asked if the presentation was finished. Ms.Woytenko said it was. Councilmember Aldama said illegal dumping has dominated the Ocotillo District for some time. He said dumping causes health issues for residents, impedes law enforcement, and causes fire hazards for residents. He said the gates will be very effective. He liked the pilot program and wanted the citizens to be involved and participate in the process. Mayor Weiers asked once the alley is blocked off, who becomes responsible for maintenance of that alley. Ms. Woytenko said if Council directs to just add gates to the alleys, the alleys would still be the City's responsibility to maintain and right of way maintenance crews would maintain the alleys. Mayor Weiers said the residents were responsible for maintaining the alleys where he used to live. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the $22,000 included all public outreach or just the cost of the gates. Mr. Friedline said that was the cash outlay for the gates and the containers. The other work would be staff time. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about the cost of the mailers and door hangers. Mr. Friedline said that cost would be minimal. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if this was going to be a problem for the Fire Department. Ms. Woytenko said staff did reach out to the Fire Department, and the Fire Department rarely fights a fire from the alleyway. She also explained that the fire trucks cannot City of Glendale Page 5 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 currently travel down the alleys. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the gates would be locked with a padlock. Mr. Friedline said the gate would be chained and one of the sides would be welded to the gate so no one could take the chain off. He said the chains would also be daisy-chained. He said residents, utilities and City staff would have keys to the locks. Mayor Weiers asked if there would be 10 different locks for 10 homes. Mr. Friedline said there would be 10 locks and he has seen 8 daisy chain locks together. Mayor Weiers asked if it would be easier to give everyone the same key, rather than having so many locks. Mr. Friedline said many utilities have their own key. Mayor Weiers said they would have to supply their own locks that way. Councilmember Aldama asked if the 300 gallon containers would be eliminated once the gates are locks. Mr. Friedline said that is correct. Councilmember Aldama said another issue is the 300 gallon containers, and asked if nearby businesses would have their own container just like the rest of the city does. Mr. Friedline said that was correct. Councilmember Turner asked if this would only be done where the adjoining neighbors agreed to have it done, and wanted to know what level of agreement they were looking for in the pilot program. Ms. Woytenko said staff has worked with Councilmember Aldama and the neighbors want the gate. Staff is looking for about a 75% approval rate from the neighbors. She said staff wanted to hear from the residents about the success of- this pilot program before the whole program is put together. Councilmember Turner asked if this would still be done on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis after the pilot program. Mr. Friedline said staff would not impose this program citywide at any point. He said the alleys that are paved work fine. He explained this would be a case by case basis and would be a positive program for some residents in the City. Councilmember Turner asked if anyone considered closing all the alleys from dusk to dawn by ordinance. Mr. Friedline said that might be more of a police perspective than public works. Mayor Weiers said there is consensus to move forward. 3. 16-296 COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: UPDATE ON CITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF FORMER CITY COUNCILMEMBER PHIL City of Glendale Page 6 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 LI EBERMAN Staff Contact and Presenter: Erik Strunk, Director, Community Services Mr. Strunk said this item is a discussion to acknowledge the passing of former Councilmember Phil Lieberman. He said there was discussion of a plaque at the Rose Lane Aquatics Center. He said Parks and Recreation has a process for naming their facilities and explained that process. He said this particular item was initiated at the request of a Councilmember. He said staff is seeking direction on this item. Councilmember Turner said he brought this item forward shortly after Mr. Lieberman's passing to acknowledge his service to the community. He said several ideas were discussed on how best to recognize Mr. Lieberman, including the plaque at the Rose Lane Aquatics Center. Councilmember Aldama said it was important to recognize Mr. Lieberman's service and supports this item. He also wanted to add Mr. Lieberman's name to the tree of life on the City Hall building. Vice Mayor Hugh agreed with the comments of the other Councilmembers. He appreciated Councilmember Turner speaking with the Lieberman family and thought the plaque location was perfect. Councilmember Chavira agreed and supported this item. He said he had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Lieberman. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus on this item. 4. 16-299 COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: CITY COUNCIL TRAVEL POLICY Staff Contact and Presenter: Vicki Rios, Interim Director, Finance and Technology Staff Presenter: Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager Staff Presenter: Brent Stoddard, Director, Office of Intergovernmental Programs Mr. Phelps said on April 5th, staff was asked to look at the travel policies. He said after review of the policies, staff felt the policies were good. He said they wanted to add additional clarity to the policies and took the opportunity to look at the internal travel policies, as well. He also said the staff report provided to City Council was not clear and he took responsibility for that. He explained that Glendale's travel policies are very good when compared to other peer cities. He said the staff report inferred that the City's current travel policies allow for the purchase of tobacco and alcohol, but he said these policies have never allowed for that. He said the draft policy is discussing how they manage city travel. He said some features of that policy will continue to be studied for internal staff, not for the Councilmembers. He said the Councilmembers may want to consider drafting their own policy on travel that is better tailored to the unique role of the Councilmembers. Mr. Duensing said an overview of the City's travel policy was requested by Councilmember Chavira, which included a review of the current travel policy, travel policy comparison, Council feedback and next steps. He said the City's policy is very consistent with other Valley cities. He said the City's policy complies with the IRS. Ms. Rios went over the City's current travel policy. She said the Council follows the City. City of Glendale Page 7 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 travel policy for all City employees. Within that policy, there are two notable exceptions for City Council. The first exception is advanced approval for elected official travel is not required and second, elected officials may determine what expenses are reasonable under the circumstances. Mr.Stoddard explained that statement is in the policy as it is written right now. Ms. Rios said it is somewhat ambiguous. She said the policy states that City Council can determine what expenses are reasonable, but the policy goes on to provide a list of expenses that are not allowed. Mr. Stoddard said none of the items on the list have ever been acceptable to the Council, and although the language is written awkwardly, the application of that has been consistent with the list of non-reimbursable expenditures. Ms. Rios said several other Valley cities were surveyed and she provided information on the responses received. She said Peoria has a separate travel policy for their City Council. She went over various differences in the travel policies of the peer cities. Mr. Stoddard said the Council has its own City Council Guidelines and the Standards for Conducting City Business for Elected Officials and Code of Conduct. In Section 5 of the Council Guidelines, the Council has agreed to follow the City's travel policy. He said there are several forms that regular employees have to fill out that the Councilmembers do not. He said unique forms can be created for Councilmember use, if necessary. Ms. Rios said several draft forms were submitted to the Councilmembers with the staff report. She said the current policy says that Councilmembers may determine what • expenses are reasonable and a list of common unallowable expenses are provided. She explained one option might be to clarify or the "reasonable" statement, and continue to list the unallowable items. She said the current policy for meals says that travelers can elect to use a per diem allowance or actual expenses for meals. Options for a new policy may include per diem allowance only, actual expenses (receipts) only, or maintain the current policy. Mayor Weiers asked if there were any questions from the Councilmembers at this point. Councilmember Malnar said he would wait until the end of the presentation to make his comments. Ms. Rios next discussed the travel advance and reimbursement form. She said Council travel reports and pro-card statements are reviewed by the Director of Intergovernmental Programs. An option for this policy could be that City Council travel reports and pro-card statements could be reviewed by the Budget and Finance Director. Mr. Duensing said they would ask for City Council feedback on these items to determine what should be reviewed in greater detail. Councilmember Malnar said the issue is transparency and asked what they can do to show the constituents they are doing what is appropriate. Mr. Duensing said it is up to City Council's discretion and members of the public can always do a public records request for any documents they would like to see. He said staff can also be proactive and make any information City Council sees fit available to the public. He said staff can go back and focus on transparency and bring back further ideas City of Glendale Page 8 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 for City Council consideration. Councilmember Malnar said that would go a lot to alleviate public concerns. He suggested City Council travel is put on the consent agenda for review and approval to make it more transparent to the public. Councilmember Chavira thanked staff for reviewing this policy and likes the direction the City Council is moving to make this as a better policy. Councilmember Tolmachoff said travel is an important part of what they do and said discretionary funds are budgeted to each Councilmember for doing their jobs. Part of those funds can be used for travel and personal development. She agreed with the transparency comments, but disagreed with Councilmember Malnar's comments about a City Council vote. She said a vote to allow Councilmembers to travel could become problematic, depending on the climate of the Council at any given time. She previously said she would post her travel receipts on her web page to be completely transparent. She said they have to find a way to show how their discretionary funds are being used. Councilmember Aldama said he is a current school board member and they do have to vote on travel. He said if you are on the wrong side of the vote, you don't go because the board members may vote it down. He said he was disappointed that staff brought travel policy comparisons forward and a policy that Council did not even get to discuss. He said the City Council gives guidance and direction and they were not able to do that with this item. He said that is wrong and not transparent. He spoke about just going to per diem. In that case, they would not have to turn in receipts. He said they want to turn in receipts. He said there was the implication that one or more Councilmembers purchased unallowable expenses, and said he has not done that. He said he didn't believe any Councilmember has purchased alcohol or tobacco, but the policy implies that one of them has done that. He said he wanted a discussion before a draft policy was brought before City Council, and an opportunity to talk about it. He said there are changes in the draft policy that they did not even get to ask for. He said the public can request any documents from his office, and he has not misspent their money. He said there are some things that imply that maybe one or more Councilmembers has violated the law, and he does not think that is the case. Councilmember Turner read from the City Council Guidelines adopted November 24, 2014, Item 5, City Travel Policy. He said all of the restrictions mentioned today have always been in place for City employees and that the City Council has been abiding by that as well. He said when the draft was released as part of the agenda packet, the media took it that this was something new and if it was not adopted, the City Council would have free reign over the money being spent. He said that is simply not the case. He explained the restrictions listed have always been in place. He said the City Council has been operating under the same restrictions that the employees do. He said there were a couple of areas he •felt could be more specific. The first is providing proper documentation for expenses. He said it should be more specific in that the receipts should be itemized. He also thought it was important to develop a policy for change in travel plans charges. He suggested it may be based on the cause of the change, and suggested if the change was for a personal reason, it be paid by the employee or Councilmember themselves. Councilmember Turner said his suggestions that applied more specifically to the City Council included a pre and post travel form. He suggested the pre travel form show what sort of travel is expected and what benefit to the public that travel might provide. He also thought the Councilmembers should inform the City Manager of any traveling they might City of Glendale Page 9 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 be doing and the reason for it. He said he does not support per diem for the Councilmembers as it is far more transparent for them to report actual expenses. He said he saw the value in having the Finance Director review the Councilmembers' expense reports, rather than the Intergovernmental Director, but said it might just be up to the City Manager to make that decision. He said he has asked his Council assistant to gather information on posting travel receipts and pre and post travel reports online. He said he would like to see those linked to their Council pages, so no public records request is necessary. He said he would like to see the Council adopt a policy that the reports for all City Council discretionary spending, receipts and explanations be available online. Vice Mayor Hugh said the suggestion on the out of state pre travel form is a good one. He agreed with the City Council providing itemized receipts rather than accepting per diem payments. He said he felt the whole City Council agreed on Councilmember Malnar's suggestion about being as transparent as possible. He spoke about Follow Your Money, but felt the date of expenditure might not be accurate. Ms. Rios said for Follow Your Money, it is the upload date into the system. She said they are looking into some other changes into that system and will make that suggestion part of their review. Mayor Weiers felt the Councilmembers should have to turn in receipts for everything. He said he has never been a fan of per diem and it would not show transparency. He liked the idea of receipts. He said he didn't feel the Councilmembers should even use a pro card. He said they should use their own personal credit cards and if they didn't have a receipt for reimbursement, they shouldn't get reimbursed for that expense. He liked the idea of reporting to one person, such as the financial officer, and shouldn't put staff in that position. Councilmember Tolmachoff disagreed with using a personal credit card for expenses. She said sometimes they have events or mailings for their districts that cost thousands of dollars and thought using the pro card for those expenses was a better idea. Councilmember Turner agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoff and said every employee should provide an itemized receipt for every expense. Mayor Weiers asked what happens if you use your pro card and don't provide the receipt. Councilmember Turner said if you do not provide the receipt, you are responsible for that expense. There was further discussion on the issue. Councilmember Chavira agreed that per diem is a bad idea and has never used it. Councilmember Aldama liked the idea of posting travel on the website. He asked if staff could name that portion of the Councilmembers' website as "travel," so constituents could see everything there relating to the Councilmember's travel expenditures. He spoke about unallowable expenditures and asked how the hotel room stay would be classified if a Councilmember took their spouse on a city trip. Ms. Rios said city policy states if there is a difference in the cost when traveling with a guest,the employee would pay that difference. City of Glendale Page 10 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 Councilmember Aldama said he wanted to make that clear. He asked a question about flights and extending his business trip a few extra days for personal business. Ms. Rios said under current city policy, the Councilmember would have to pay if there was a difference in the flight cost or the additional days of personal business. She said this is consistent with IRS rules and guidelines for travel. Councilmember Aldama said he wanted to make that clear so everyone understood that. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked Councilmember Turner if he was suggesting doing away with the lost receipt form. Councilmember Turner said he felt they should do away with the lost receipt form, as it is not transparent. He said there are ways of getting a duplicate receipt and to verify that cost. Councilmember Aldama supported that. He said there will be times that happens, but would like something spelled out in writing as to what is allowable. He said if you have a receipt,you need to provide it. Ms. Rios clarified the policy they are talking about was the procurement card policy, not the travel policy, and those apply equally to Councilmembers and City employees. She said it might be burdensome for an employee who lost a receipt and had to cover a very large expense, and the idea behind the lost receipt form is if you can't recover the receipt, you are able to provide that justification so the employee is not out of pocket for that expense. Mayor Weiers said the pro card statement identifies the date, time and items that were purchased. Ms. Rios said they do have that information. Mayor Weiers asked why it was so important that staff have a receipt for a purchase. If that receipt is lost and the employee can provide the pertinent information of when the purchase was made, what was purchased and when, then staff can match it to the pro card statement. Ms. Rios said this goes back to Councilmember Turner's point of itemization. The itemization might show $300 to US Airways, but the itemized receipt might show the expense was for a plane ticket and all the details of the flight. The summary receipt might not show the required level of detail, and a certain level of detail is required from city employees. Councilmember Turner said he was talking about the level of transparency for the sake of the constituents,show the details of the funds spent. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the Councilmembers need to hold themselves to the highest of standards. She said they need to find a way to provide the transparency so there isn't even a reason for a freedom of information act requests. Councilmember Malnar asked if they were now going to also address the employee policy as well as the City Council policy. He also asked if they were going to create a whole separate policy just for the City Council to address the advanced approval and how elected officials determine expenses are appropriate. City of Glendale Page 11 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 Mr. Duensing said he would like to summarize the discussions from staff perspective and have a specific discussion on the framework of transparency, including what other cities are doing, because the topic is so important. He said they can also discuss a separate policy for the City Council,if necessary. Mayor Weiers said he would like to see the advanced approval for elected officials be an advance notification. He said he wasn't asking for permission to go on a trip. He would be in favor of notifying the City Manager that he was going on a trip, not asking permission to go. Mr. Phelps said as the City Manager, they have been working on travel policy for employees that will meet the needs of a hierarchical approval process. To date, the Council has said they are going to adopt the existing travel policy that is designed for City staff. From hearing the Council feedback, he said it may make sense as a City employee travel policy is developed, that the City Council modifies a policy that lists the sections the City Council agrees with, but specifically calls out whatever exceptions to that policy the City Council sees fit for its own travel policy. He listed the example of City employees being required to obtain pre-approval for travel, but said the Council does not need such approval for their travel. He said it makes sense to incorporate many of the City employee travel policy items into a City Council travel policy, but said the City Council may want to design their own modifications to that policy. He said discussions should continue at the staff level to modify the City employee travel policy. As that policy is refined, it will be shared with the Councilmembers who can create their own travel policy from that with any necessary additions or exemptions. He said it makes sense to have a policy that meets the uniqueness of the City Council positions. Councilmember Aldama said the travel policy governing staff and the City Council shouldn't be that different. He said it is still taxpayer's money, and suggested putting together an ad hoc citizens committee to assist in drafting these policies. Councilmember Turner said he would like to see the City Council accept the city travel policy as their foundation and they can make a limited number of differences which may be more restrictive and transparent. He said he didn't want to have two separate travel policies. Mayor Weiers asked if there was a consensus to bring this back to a future workshop. Mr. Duensing said there is no intent to drive policy and that was not the intent of this discussion. He said staff will bring something back before City Council for discussion. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT City Manager Phelps had nothing to report. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT City Attorney Bailey had nothing to report; however, he did remind Council that there was an Executive Session planned. COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what can be done to shorten the timeline associated with obtaining required permits and completing construction projects when a resident is issued a notice of violation through a city enforcement process because that person is City of Glendale Page 12 Printed on 7/29/2016 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final June 21,2016 out of compliance with Glendale's code or design standards and is required to take steps to correct a known violation. MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION It was moved by Councilmember Turner,seconded by Councilmember Chavira, 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 The City Council entered into Executive Session at 3:40 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The City Council adjourned at 4:12 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 21st day of June, 2016. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 7"dayof TU,l l' ,2016. • ulie K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City of Glendale Page 13 Printed on 7/29/2016