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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 4/23/2019 (3) City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 I 1 Es GLEND4I1 Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 23, 2019 12:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Chris Anaradian, Assistant City Manager Sheryl Rabin, Deputy City Clerk WORKSHOP SESSION 1. ARIZONA MUNICIPAL WATER USERS ASSOCIATION'S (AMWUA) 50TH ANNIVERSARY AND A PRESENTATION ON THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN Presented by: Craig Johnson, P.E., Director, Water Services Drew Swieczkowski, Environmental Program Manager Guest Presenter: Warren Tenney, Executive Director, AMWUA Ms. Rabin read the item by title. Mr. Tenney provided information regarding the recent completion of the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) and its potential impact on Glendale's water resources. Vice Mayor Clark asked if AMWUA recruited other cities for membership in the organization. She was surprised that Surprise and Buckeye were not members. Those two cities were two of the fastest growing cities in the West Valley. Mr. Tenney said, per AMWUA membership bylaws, a city had to have water allocated through the Central Arizona Project (CAP); received water from the Salt River Project (SRP); operated a treatment plant and a wastewater treatment plant; and have a population over 50,000. AMWUA recognized the growth to the west and the far east side. Although it did have communications with the areas it was not actively recruiting membership but it was something that could be looked into. Vice Mayor Clark thought it was very important to the future of the organization, especially given the drought. Vice Mayor Clark asked about AMWUA's position in regard to new subdivisions. When a subdivision applied to a municipality, it had to guarantee that there would be a 100-year water supply. At what point could growth not be accommodated because the water supply could not be assured. Mr. Tenney stated that AMWUA was committed to application of the water supply rules to provide a strong water foundation. It was important that each of the member cities had its assured water City Council Meeting Minutes-April 23, 2019 Page 2 of 6 supply designation so it could take in more businesses and grow with sound water management. The cut-off point would be an issue in the future. The biggest challenge was peripheral growth where only certificates were required. AMWUA was looking at how to improve the situation. Vice Mayor Clark asked what AMWUA position's was on the issue. Mr. Tenney said the 100-year assured water supply rules were critical and must be secured and strengthened. Vice Mayor asked if the groundwater supply rules applied only to the member cities. Mr. Tenney explained that the Groundwater Management Act applied to the Phoenix Active Management Area, the Pinal Phoenix Active Management Area and the Tucson Active Management Area. Mr. Swieczkowski stated that the West Valley Water Association was comprised of Surprise, Buckeye, Goodyear and some private water companies. The group was working with the Bureau of Reclamation to develop a groundwater model and supply versus demand. The group had been working with AMWUA for assistance with program implementation. Mayor Weiers asked about the role of EPCOR, the biggest non-city water provider on the west side, in the West Valley Water Association. Mr. Swieczkowski said EPCOR had representation on the Board and on the Planning Committee. Mayor Weiers said EPCOR also had a voice through the cities it served. Mr. Johnson said Arizona was in the second decade of the longest recorded drought in history which caused stress on the Colorado River. A consortium of over 45 cities developed the successful DCP agreement signed by both the Governor and the President. Mr. Swieczkowski presented an update on the Drought Contingency Plan, which included the following information: • Glendale Water Resources • Glendale's Colorado River Supply (CAP) • Colorado River/CAP System • CAP Priority System • Glendale's CAP Water • DCP Summary • DCP Impacts to Arizona • Impacts to Glendale • DCP Status Update • Bottom Line for Glendale Councilmember Tolmachoff noted that on the same day the Governor signed the DCP, he signed an executive order to create a council to talk about water conservation. She asked if there was information on the council. Mr. Swieczkowski believed that the committee would be focusing on getting the message out. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the agriculture representatives were at the table to discuss conservation. City Council Meeting Minutes -April 23, 2019 Page 3 of 6 Mr. Swieczkowski said that was correct. The Verde Valley agriculture group was enacting some cutting edge techniques to conserve water and might be viewed as the model for agriculture conservation. Councilmember Malnar wondered how the area west of 115th was handling water supply. A lot of growth was occurring in the area. Mr. Swieczkowski said the area was in very good shape as EPCOR was very much on top of the situation. The area used mostly groundwater and had joined the Groundwater Replenishment District. Vice Mayor Clark asked who was paying for the Pinal Agricultural District mitigation. Mr. Swieczkowski said the funds were coming from various sources, such as the state, CAP, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Vice Mayor Clark asked if there had been any discussion regarding drought, desalination and further clean up of effluent water. Mr. Swieczkowski said there had been discussion. The clean-up of effluent water, or direct potable reuse, was being done in Texas and California, however, there were public perception challenges. Goodyear was taking a look at direct potable reuse. Desalination was expensive and the planning and implementation would be a ten-year process. Vice Mayor Clark asked if there were any requirements for California to do a better job at conserving its run-off. Mr. Swieczkowski said California was becoming more aware of the severity of the drought issue. It did not have the structure that Arizona did but he hoped to see California continuing its efforts. Councilmember Turner said the DCP had two major parts: the agreement between the states and the agreement within the states. As far as between the states, California had more members in Congress and more political power than all the states in the DCP which was how it was able to get such a good deal in the beginning. In the new plan, California was giving up water earlier in the process which was a great success for the rest of the Colorado River water users. Councilmember Turner said within the state, Pinal agriculture was able to carry some weight with the state legislature. The funds for Pinal agriculture would be used to purchase equipment to draw the water up from the ground. He was concerned that all CAP customers would be funding a portion of the cost. Councilmember Turner said approximately six percent of the City's water came from groundwater wells, which were distributed all over the City. He said effluent was treated to a nearly-potable level, but was not available citywide as the infrastructure did not exist. SRP comprised 40% of usage, but was only available to residents who lived south of the canal and 44% was CAP, which was north Glendale. There were four different water sources in the City and use was dependent on where one lived in the City. Councilmember Turner said AMWUA had a very useful website at www.AMWUA.org. The site contained some great water conservation publications and information for residents. City Council Meeting Minutes-April 23, 2019 Page 4 of 6 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT No report CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT No report COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Malnar requested that the Police Department research a program to educate the public on how to mitigate the issues of homelessness and panhandling. Councilmember Tolmachoff requested a discussion on recycling costs. The Blue Barrel Pilot Program was in place and she wanted information on what generated revenue and what did not. Vice Mayor Clark requested a discussion on the cost to restore library hours in preparation for next year's budget cycle. Mayor Weiers asked for a discussion regarding the texting bill recently signed into law by Governor Ducey so that the City could conform to the law. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Vice Mayor Joyce Clark, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council entered into executive session at 1:45 p.m. for discussion and or consultation, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction regarding the evaluation and performance reviews of the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(1)(4). A motion was made by Mayor Jerry Weiers, seconded by Vice Mayor Joyce Clark to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar City Council Meeting Minutes-April 23, 2019 Page 5 of 6 Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the executive session at 2:25 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 2:25 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 23rd day of April, 2019. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 1st day of May, 2019. ` Ju . Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes-April 23, 2019 Page 6 of 6