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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Business Council Committee - Meeting Date: 2/21/2019MINUTES BUSINESS COUNCIL COMMITTEE CITY HALL, CONFERENCE ROOM 2A 5850 WEST GLENDALE AVENUE GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 2:00 PM CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 2 PM. ROLL CALL Committee members present: Vice Mayor Joyce dark, Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff, David Cable, Yvonne Knaack, John Crow, Dale Adams and Ricardo Toris were present. Committee members absent: Councilmember Ray Malnar and Vice Chairperson Bart Shea City staff present: Chris Anaradian (Assistant City Manager), Stephen Dudley (Building Safety Official), David Williams (Planning Administrator), Pat Childress (Consultant) and Quin Childress (Consultant) CITIZEN COMMENTS There we no citizens present, so Vice Mayor dark did not call for citizen comments. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES There was a motion to approve the January morning meeting minutes made by Councilmember Tolmachoff and it was seconded by Ms. Knaack. All in favor and none opposed. There was a motion to approve the January afternoon meeting minutes made by Councilmember Tomalchoff and it was seconded by Mr. Crow. All in favor and none opposed. ITEMS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER INTRODUCTION AND OPEN DISCUSSION Vice Mayor Clark introduced the new Assistant City Manager, Chris Anaradian. Mr. Anaradian "will be in charge of revamping the culture of the city," according to Vice Mayor dark. Mr. Anaradian began with discussing his prior experience and the ways in which he hopes to improve the committee's work with the city. Mr. Anaradian encouraged the organization to make a positive culhiral shift. He states, "getting someone a building permit means that you got them to a set of plans that meet our codes; getting them to a C ofO means you are making someone's dreams come true. Mr. Anaradian then introduced the Childress consultants who discussed their intended contribution to the committee in regards to customer service and workspace adjustments. Mr. Anaradian made sure to distribute some handouts to the committee. There were "new employee expectations" and "additional expectations of supervisors," and these will be expected 1 of all employees (if applicable to their position). The final page relates to employee behavior expectations. Vice Mayor dark then opened the floor for questions. Mr. Anaradian noted that management is always the last to know when there is a problem, and in an effort to adjust this, new employee assessments will be created. Mr. Anaradian discussed forming committees such as systems and processes, technology, etc. Vice Mayor dark expressed a concern with the employee honesty in their responses to the assessments, and Pat Childress said that very few are too reluctant to share their honest thoughts. Councilmember Tomalchoff noted how problematic it was that there were many employees who composed honest responses to surveys taken over a year ago, but the committee still has not seen this feedback. Mr. Anaradian noted that their surveys on March 6th will prove to be a better experience than those of the past. Mr. Anaradian explained that although this is an economic development business, most of the workforce in this business needs to develop the economic development mindset. Mr. Adams asked how Mr. Anaradian sees the Business Council Committee helping him with economic development. Mr. Anaradian admitted that he wasn't fully confident that he knew what the committee wanted from him, but with the collaboration and clear communication between the committee and the Childress consultants, Mr. Anaradian is confident that it'll have a positive outcome. Mr. Anaradian noted that based on this economic development, there could be four to five new positions created based on assessment of current employee positions and redistribution of work. Vice Mayor dark had some concern regarding ensuring that employees have a sense of empowerment. Vice Mayor Clark also wanted to demonstrate and promote pride in the facilities, which will, in turn, create a better work environment. According to Mr. Anaradian, the most well-calibrated department in this area is field operations, which is the only work unit that has a "continuous improvement cycle," as he called it. Mr. Anaradian stated that this is the goal for all the departments within the next two years. Mr. Anaradian suggested that there should be some assurance for employees to prove that fast changes will occur with their feedback this time (as opposed to previous situations where nothing noticeably changed). It was noted that relationships and systems are the two elements of companies that require constant work and attention, and strong systems are better developed when there are strong relationships with employees. Having strength in both of these areas will help with making fast changes to the economic development and department success. FLAGPOLE ORDINANCE Vice Mayor Clark made note of a miscellaneous issue regarding "mobile home parks and the ability to build a stick house." Councilmember Malnar brought this to the meeting for discussion, and although it does seem out of place, the ordinance is listed as "flagpoles and miscellaneous." Vice Mayor dark then gave everyone the opportunity to read the ordinance. This flagpole ordinance has three parts: 60-foot flagpoles are now allowed for commercial areas when they were limited to 30 feet before, 60-foot flagpoles are now allowed for industrial areas when they were limited to 30 feet before, and model home complexes are now allowed to have temporary flagpoles that are 60 feet high, when prior to this, they were limited to 30 feet. The tallest flagpole allowed is no higher than sixty 60 feet. This ordinance does not change any regulations for the residential lots. If a resident wants a flagpole taller than 6 feet, it will require a building permit. For a flagpole, the permit charge would be $108. When it comes to obtaining a permit, there is a set of standards available to view for those interested in a flagpole instaliation, and the largest element of the inspection is the foundation itself Councilmember Tolmachoff noted that what was on the standard notification list was different than what was sent to her. A detailed explanation of the flagpole ordinance was given here. Councilmember Tolmachoff expressed concern for having an abundance offlagpoles installed in certain areas, and Mr, Williams explained that there are "practical limitations" to the flagpole installation. There is also a flag-to-pole size ratio that should be added. Ms. Knaack made motion to add a flag-to-pole size ratio limitation, and Councilmember Tolmachoff seconded. After this, there was further discussion, and it was noted by Mr. Dudley that the final price for a flagpole permit charge is approximately $73.75_ not $108 as previously stated. Mr. Adams asked if it would be possible to lower the cost ofaflagpole permit to make it more affordable especially because this is for the American flag. Vice Mayor dark asked Mr, Dudley if the fee could be changed. Mr. Dudley stated that this fee revision could be part of the upcoming CPI fee adjustments for the community development fee schedule which will be brought to a council voting meeting. Vice Mayor dark made a request to add an amendment of no more than two flagpoles per site. Ultimately, Vice Mayor dark asked for a motion for three amendments, and they are as follows; 1. There can only be up to three flagpoles per site, with one being federal, one state, and one municipal, but the federal flagpole must be the tallest flagpole. 2. None of these flags can be marketing or advertising flags. 3. There must be a flag-to-pole size ratio limitation. It was moved by Councilmember Tomalchoff and seconded by Ms. Knaack. All are in favor, none opposed. Motion passed. FINAL REVIEW AND COMMENTS REGARDING PROPOSED 2018 BUILDING CODE AMENDMENTS Ms. Knaack noted that on page 137, Section 116, of the meeting minutes, there was an^ error in who made an objection. It stated that it was "Vice Mayor Tolmachoff when it should've been "Ms. Knaack," and later it said "Chairperson dark" when it should've been "Vice Mayor Clark." Vice Mayor dark asked for a motion to approve these changes and the building code amendments. It was moved by Mr. Adams and seconded by Councilmember Tolmachoff. All in favor and none opposed. OTHER BUSINESS No other business was discussed. It was noted that sign ordinance will wait until the March meeting. STAFF REPORT Mr. Dudley was asked if he needed to share anything in regards to the code amendments; nothing to report, but he expressed his thanks for the committee's cooperation with the approval of the codes. COMMITTEE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS No other business, committee comments, or suggestions were made. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will take place on March 21st, 2019, at 2 PM. ADJOURNMENT A motion to adjourn was moved my Ms. Knaack and seconded by Councilmember Tolmachoff. The meeting adjourned at 3:31 PM. Sherry Crapser, Recording Secretary