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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 6/26/2018 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 4111 01 Pie ae Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 26, 2018 12:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember lan Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 12:31 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk WORKSHOP SESSION 1. RED-LIGHT CAMERA SYSTEM STUDY FOLLOW-UP Presented by: Rick St. John, Police Chief Ms. Bower read the item by title. Chief St. John provided an overview of the previously conducted study at 59th Avenue and Bell Road. Assistant Police Chief Chris Briggs said a survey of other Arizona police agencies with red-light cameras determined: • 13 agencies had red-light cameras •5 were still using red-light cameras Reasons for removal of the system included: •Lack of Council support •Community feedback • Locations of cameras did not support mission • No reduction in accidents or increase due to inattention •Contract disagreements Chief Briggs said the cameras were removed at 75th Avenue and Thunderbird due to accidents doubling in the intersection. Councilmember Clark wanted to confirm there were 13 agencies that had originally installed red-light cameras and of those, only five agencies still used the cameras. Chief Briggs said that was correct. Councilmember Clark asked if it was correct that three months into the 2007 radar study, the number of red-light violations decreased by fifty percent and asked how long that decrease was maintained. City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page .2 of 10 Debbie Albert, City Traffic Engineer, said that was correct. Councilmember Clark asked for further explanation in the decrease of crashes, which resulted from the red-light camera. Ms. Albert said the number of rear-end crashes decreased, angled crashes and all others increased. Mayor Weiers asked if that was a two-year study and if the data was inconclusive. Ms.Albert said it was a two-year study. Due to the length of the study, it was difficult to make concrete conclusions based on the crash data. Initial trends were recognized and Council chose to discontinue the pilot program. Mayor Weiers said a one-month red-light camera study had been conducted. He asked how enough data was collected in a one-month study, but not a two-year study. Ms. Albert asked if he was referring to the most recent pilot program. Mayor Weiers said that was correct. Chief St. John said recent legislation had changed the administration of the cameras back to 2009 provisions. A company would now need to be hired to manage the system, creating a cost to the City. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked how many red-light instances were in the 30-day study. Chief John said there were 9,053 total red-light violations. Mayor Weiers was opposed to red-light running cameras but would support the cameras on school buses to catch drivers who did not wait for children to exit the bus and cross the street. Councilmember Clark asked if any.of the completed studies included recommendations for red-light cameras. Ms. Albert said none of the recommendations included red-light cameras. Councilmember Clark asked why cameras were not considered. Ms. Albert said the focus of the studies was for engineering improvements, not for enforcement. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked for further explanation of the "grace" length that was given for the violations. Chief St. John explained the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.)defined running of the intersection as a vehicle passing the prolongated curb line after a light turned red. During the study, the line was temporarily moved forward 3 to 4 feet which created the grace length. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said due to the new legislation, she was not in favor of moving forward with the red-light cameras. She asked what the penalty was for a red-light violation. Chief St. John said the penalty was $256. Penalties in other cities ranged from $218 to $337 but the average was in the$250 range. City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page 3 of 10 Mayor Weiers asked how much of the total stayed in the City and how much was distributed elsewhere. Chief St. John explained the base fee was $93.55 which was collected by the City. The Court Improvement Fund received $20. There were also surcharges of$88.65, a probation fee of$20, a victims' rights fee of$2, a Title 13 assessment of$13, a Title 4 assessment of$4 and a victim assistance fee of$9, for a total of$250.31. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said the number of red-light violations was higher than expected and she was in favor of raising the fee to discourage red-light running. She asked if Chief St. John was surprised by the number of violations issued during the study period. Chief St. John was appalled by the number of violations. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked Council to consider raising the penalty for red-light violations. Mayor Weiers said if there was a consensus to raise the fine, he would like a community service alternative to be in place for those who did not have the ability to pay. Chief St. John said judges had discretion regarding fines. Councilmember Hugh asked what the best way was to prevent traffic accidents. Chief St. John would provide statistics but the department had reinvigorated the"It's our town, slow down" campaign and was seeing positive results. Vehicle fatalities were down 82%from 2016 statistics and the total number of deaths was down 62.5%. Councilmember Clark was not convinced having red-light cameras at the intersections would work. Several other communities had discontinued similar programs and because of the change in legislation, it would incur costs to the City. She would like to see the efforts of the "It's our town, slow down" campaign continue. Councilmember Turner asked for the actual numbers regarding vehicular deaths. Chief St. John said vehicle fatalities, in 2016, were 11. In 2017 there were 4 fatalities, and so far in 2018, there had been 2. It was an 82% decrease. Total deaths, regardless of mechanism, were 16 in 2016, 10 in 2017 and 6 so far in 2018, which equaled a 62.5% decrease. He said there was a continued issue with pedestrians and grants had been received for a pedestrian education program. Councilmember Turner asked when the restart of the campaign began. Chief St. John said June 1, 2017. Councilmember Turner said the reduction appeared to have started before the campaign began. Chief St. John said enforcement strategies were implemented in January of 2017 but the marketing campaign did not began until June of 2017. Councilmember Turner said without the enforcement, the same results might not have been produced. Chief St. John agreed. Councilmember Turner asked for the percentage of violations which occurred during the all-red City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page 4 of 10 phase. Ms. Albert said it was 99%. Councilmember Turner said of the 10,000 violations at 59th Avenue and Bell, 1%would have occurred after the all-red phase.He asked how the focus could be shifted towards the 1% and did officers patrolling the intersection have the same emphasis to ticket the red-light runners which happened during the all-red phase. Chief St. John said it was difficult, and dangerous at times, to enforce in the intersections. Stationing an officer at an intersection to capture the 99%, might not necessarily change driving behavior, which was why officers went after aggressive drivers. Most violators were going above the 40 miles per hour when they entered the intersection on the red light and would be caught by an officer working speed enforcement or on patrol versus the technical violation of running the red at the intersection, which could be argued in court. Councilmember Turner said the issue was still with the new legislation to provide manpower to run the system. Councilmember Malnar supported looking into other ways to make roads safe without the use of a camera system. Councilmember Clark wanted to see more HAWK (High-Intensity Activated crossWalK) beacons and more education and enforcement in the use of the crosswalks. Mayor Weiers asked if the department had been aggressively enforcing jaywalking or was it more of an educational approach. Chief St. John said the Governor's Office of Highway Safety had awarded the City a grant that provided funds for printed materials to hand out to pedestrians in areas where jaywalking was more common. The department would be moving into the enforcement phase soon. Chief Briggs said the department was currently educating pedestrians in apartment complexes located near convenience stores. There had been some enforcement on flagrant violations. Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus to raise the penalty for red light violation to $350. There was not consensus to raise the penalty. Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus to allow the Police Department to work with the school districts to put radar cameras on school buses. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if such a device existed. Chief St. John had heard of it but would need to do further research. Chief St. John reminded Council of the new legislation and the requirement to review every citation prior to being served. If it was approved by Council, he would invest the manpower for the program. Mayor Weiers suggested that cameras be placed on one or two buses and then educate the public about the new enforcement program. Councilmember Clark wanted more information and wanted to hear from the school districts. She also wanted to know what the cost would be. City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page 5 of 10 Mayor Weiers asked for consensus to research cameras on school buses for enforcement. There was Council consensus to proceed. Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus for the standard red-light running camera system. There was not Council consensus. Mr. Phelps said, based on a 2012 National Highway Safety study, it was calculated each fatality caused by an accident cost a community approximately$1.2 million. The Transportation Department was working on optimizing traffic signal timing to control drivers' speed. Councilmembers could provide information to constituents through district newsletters about the timed signals. 2. 2017-2018 DOWNTOWN FESTIVAL SEASON RECAP AND 2018-2019 SPECIAL EVENTS FESTIVAL IMPLEMENTATIONS Presented by: Jim Burke, Director, Public Facilities, Recreation and Special Events Presented by: Heidi Barriga, Administrator, Special Events Ms. Bower read the item by title. Councilmember Clark said there was a rumor that the festivals were not going to take place and that was not true. She asked Mr. Phelps to address the rumors. Mr. Phelps said the changes were not significant and would not have a major impact on the festivals. The festivals would be similar to past years. Mr. Burke presented a recap of the 2017-18 festival season that included enhancements that were added. He said some recommendations would be presented for changes in dates and program for the 2018-19 festival season. There would be no changes in budget and savings would be reallocated to enhance the remaining events to make them more successful. Councilmember Aldama asked how attendees were counted and how accurate was the count. Ms. Barriga said the attendance numbers were estimates. Staff used a formula with numbers from vendor sales, sanitation tonnage and parked vehicles, to estimate the number of attendees. Mayor Weiers had noticed when well-known celebrities performed, there was a larger turnout. Ms. Barriga said the numbers were not based on who performed, they were based on parking numbers, sanitation and sales. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if the revenue generated in the last four weekends of Glendale Glitters was $313,846. Ms. Barriga said that was correct. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said with 286,000 attendees, that equaled just over$1 per person. Councilmember Aldama asked was there more or less marketing for 2016-17 compared to 2017-18. Ms. Barriga said 2017-18 included the first changes that were made with a slightly less marketing budget of$65,000. The previous year, $90,000 was spent on marketing. City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page 6 of 10 Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if there would be requirements regarding vendor tents since the City would no longer be providing tents. Ms. Barriga said there would be guidelines the vendors would be required to follow. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff had received complaints in past years regarding the look of the tents. She preferred the uniformed look. Ms. Barriga said staff had requested feedback from vendors regarding the tents. Vendors preferred to provide their own tents. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked for an explanation of the "quiet nights." Ms. Barriga said they were specific nights when there were no events planned so that people could enjoy the lights, walk the park and visit the neighborhood shops and restaurants. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff had received several complaints from constituents that most of the merchants were not open in the evening and asked if there were any arrangements with the merchants to remain open. Ms. Barriga said staff would work with the Chamber and the downtown manager to get the word out for merchants to remain open. Councilmember Aldama asked if the changes were going to be communicated with the Chamber, the downtown manager and the merchants for feedback and then brought back to Council for final recommendations or was staff asking for consensus now. Mr. Burke said the presentation was the final recommendations for staff to move forward. Staff did plan to speak with the merchants and the Chamber in July but there would not be time to bring it back to Council. Councilmember Aldama assumed staff would have worked with the Chamber to bring forward the final recommendations to Council. He asked if there was a reason why the 2017-18 season had less marketing funds. Ms. Barriga said radio marketing was eliminated as it had not hit target numbers. The savings was used for additional enhancements. Councilmember Aldama suggested partnering with the new owner of Westgate to increase marketing. Councilmember Clark agreed with Vice Mayor Tolmachoffs comments regarding few of the downtown merchants being open in the evening during festival season. She suggested that local entertainment be used during the week in the amphitheater and that a lighted symbol be used to connect Catlin Court and Glendale Avenue so visitors knew it was part of the festival and that merchants would be open. Councilmember Clark asked what the fee was for a vendor to participate in the festival. Ms. Barriga did not have that information and would provide it later. Councilmember Clark wanted to know if the fee was too high or too low and said there should be a public discussion to decide the proper amount. She requested the vendor fees be brought back to Council for discussion prior to the festival season. City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page 7 of 10 Councilmember Malnar said the feel of the festival should be changed to something unique to Glendale. He understood the direction staff was trying to go with the changes. Mayor Weiers said the downtown merchants needed to work together and with the downtown manager to make the area available in the evening and to make each year successful. Councilmember Turner said the feedback he had received previously was that festivals had a carnival feel to them and that parts of the event were too crowded. He suggested allowing merchants to sell outside stores, allowing food vendors to expand on the closed streets, and allowing merchants to bring in entertainment. Councilmember Turner was concerned about the impact of the three non-programmed weekends on the Pride Program and the merchants. The food vendors would benefit from no competition on non-programmed nights. He asked if the Pride Ambassadors could setup a table on non-programmed nights. Ms. Barriga said not on non-festival nights. The Ambassadors would still be participating in Glitter & Glow and the Chocolate Affaire. Councilmember Turner was interested to hear the merchants'feedback on the elimination of Friday night for the Chocolate Affaire. He asked if the date of the event had been discussed. Ms. Barriga said it would not be scheduled for the weekend of the Super Bowl or the opening of the Waste Management Open Tournament weekend. Mr. Phelps said staff reached out to the vendors after the last season and the recommendations were directly from the feedback received. Staff would follow up with the vendor fee request but he was not sure if there was time to implement a new pricing schedule before the next season. It could be discussed for future seasons. Councilmember Aldama would like a more defined goal and mission for special events. He had noticed merchants open during the later hours for events but agreed there should be some type of pledge for more to remain open and help with events. He asked for more information regarding the survey and feedback received from the downtown merchants after the festival season. Mr. Burke explained staff surveyed vendors and participants but met with the merchants through the Chamber-sponsored downtown merchant meetings and sub-committees. Staff used the information from those meetings for implementation. Councilmember Aldama asked if any of the information was available to share. Mr. Burke would provide the information to Council. Staff was meeting with the group again next month to discuss the next steps. Councilmember Aldama hoped everyone worked together to be successful. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said the mission statement for special events had not worked and she did not feel like anything had been accomplished. She was willing to see if the new implementation would make a change. She asked what was the special events budget for other events in the City. Mr. Burke said the information would be provided to Council. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked which special events were not located downtown. City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page 8 of 10 Ms. Barriga said there was Touch-A-Truck at Westgate, Movies by Moonlight at multiple City parks, Folk and Heritage Festival at Sahuaro Ranch and the Summer Band at Murphy Park. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said the budget was very small compared to the amount of money spent in downtown. She asked how many of the Movies by Moonlight were held at other parks and Murphy Park. Ms. Barriga said there were five in Murphy Park and six held at other City parks. Councilmember Clark agreed that changes needed to be made if different results were expected. The topic would need further discussion. Councilmember Aldama agreed, the same thing could not be repeated if different results were expected. Mayor Weiers agreed with Vice Mayor Tolmachoff and Councilmember Aldama's comments. He said the City had done a poor job partnering with businesses and different organizations for sponsorships. He liked the idea of having more events but on a smaller scale throughout the year. Councilmember Turner wanted to clarify Vice Mayor Tolmachoff s comment of only$1 per attendee was spent at Glendale Glitters. More was spent by attendees but most of the revenue was kept by the vendors and merchants. He was interested in knowing an estimate of the economic impact and how the money was spent. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT No report CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT No report COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST None MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Councilmember Ian Hugh to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Passed City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 Page 9 of 10 EXECUTIVE SESSION Council entered into executive session at 2:59 p.m. to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction regarding the employment of the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(1)(4); to receive an update, to consider its position and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney regarding Glendale's position in connection with a contract relating to property in the area of 91st Avenue and Northern Avenue pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7); and to receive an update, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney regarding Glendale's position in connection with a contract relating to the Maryland Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard pursant to (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7)). A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the executive session at 4:17 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 4:17 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 26th day of June, 2018. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 3rd day of August, 2018. /We ,u1.- K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes-June 26,2018 - Page 10 of 10