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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Business Council Committee - Meeting Date: 6/20/2019MINUTES BUSINESS COUNCIL COMMITTEE CITY HALL, CONFERENCE ROOM 2A 5850 WEST GLENDALE AVENUE GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019 2:00 PM CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 2 PM. ROLL CALL Committee members present: Vice Mayor Chairperson Joyce Clark, Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff, Yvonne Knaack, Ricardo Toris, John Crow, and Dale Adams Committee members absent: Vice Chairperson Bart Shea and Councilmember Ray Malnar City staff present: Eric Fitzer (Development Services Director) CITIZEN COMMENTS There were no citizens present, so Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark did not call for citizen comments. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES A motion to approve the May meeting minutes was made by Mr. Crow and it was seconded by Councilmember Tolmachof. . ITEMS City Business Lieensing Code Review presented by Assistant City Manager Vield Rios . Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked for any comments, questions, or concerns in regards to the sign b. Development Services Report presented by Assistant City Manager Chris Anaradian Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark noted that Mr. Anaradian was on vacation, so Mr. Fitzer presented the report to the committee. Ultimately, the information Mr. Fitzer shared is what came out of interviewing the Development Services staff. Their feedback related to how well they worked together (3.59 average) and how they would rate the staff's productivity (3.84 average). Many staff felt that there were problems with management/supervisors, antiquated processes/technology, low morale, and efficiency of productivity. Mr. Fitzer noted that customer feedback differed from staff feedback. There was a 2.58 average in general in regards to quality of service, efficiency, etc. It was noted that some customers would wait to speak with their preferred staff member, which has both positive and negative elements. Some customers noted that they would receive different answers from different staff. There was a strong consensus of improving many areas of the Development Services Department. These customers are both internal and external. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about standardizing staff answers to customers and encouraging clear leadership communication. Mr. Fitzer noted that even the department has confusion within it, which creates issues. The recommendation is as follows: solving the issues identified by the assessment. Last week, there were working groups created within the department: Work Culture, Customer Service, Process & Improvement, and Employee Development & Engagement. The Work Culture group was created to create a mission, vision, and values for the department. Mr. Fitzer will be facilitating the meetings, but the employee groups will predominantly be creating and contributing to the way in which the department runs. Mr. Fitzer noted that due to some unexpected issues being brought to the city's attention, there is an ongoing investigation occurring with some city employees; Mr. Fitzer also commented that staff is doing an exceptional job working without these employees being present at this time. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark explained that the amount of productivity, cases, and inspections were low in Glendale, and the amount of cases unsolved were low. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked how Mr. Fitzer is ensuring accountability and productivity. Mr. Fitzer explained that they must consider where the neighboring communities are in their own development. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark then asked if these employee teams are meant to self -analyze and create their own solutions. Mr. Fitzer confirmed this, but he also stated that he would be involved with every step. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark expressed concerns with the disconnect from how staff feels they're doing in regards to customer service in comparison to how staff seems to be performing to customers. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark then asked how the departments in general can obtain a "can do" attitude. Mr. Fitzer concurred that this is certainly a department -wide issue, but it's a matter of Mr. Fitzer working with driving that idea. Ms. Knaack commented on the Development Services personnel that were involved in the aforementioned ongoing investigation, and Ms. Knaack heard that there seems to be some relief in the department already due to the absence of these personnel. Mr. Fitzer agreed and explained that after his presentation for the groups, the desire for staff to sign up was positive. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked how we will know if it is successful. Mr. Fitzer stated that staff is eager to regularly measure their performance. Mr. Adams asked if there were specific deadlines and goals for these working groups. Mr. Fitzer stated that each group has a 90 -day timeline, and the groups each created a presentation for how they will go about obtaining their goals. Mr. Fitzer noted that these groups will overlap and ultimately end up working together. Mr. Adams wondered if the council could be included in department meetings, but Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark stated that many management personnel are uncomfortable with council getting involved. There was further discussion about involvement from council. Mr. Crow noticed that there was feedback on leadership, but then Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark explained that the group was referring to leadership within their division. Mr. Crow asked why there isn't a process with dealing with department heads where there is a customer service division. Councilmember Tolmachoff explained that she has been trying to organize a customer service division for years. After extensive discussion in regards to a potential customer service division, Mr. Fitzer explained that even with a customer service division, the departments would need to address issues individually as well. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark concurred and noted that the culture of some of the departments needs adjustment. Mr. Crow urged the committee to understand that �i with his prior work experience, it had taken about three years to have a complete turnaround for departments. Councilmember Tolmachoff expressed frustration with dealing with staff issues when they are meant to be council members. Mr. Toris asked if since the report was effective in regards to honesty and openness in the questions, he suggested revisiting these questions with the department in a year's time. The rest of the committee had a positive response to this suggestion. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked how employee performance was measured prior to Development Services Report. Mr. Fitzer did note that GPS devices are going to be put on city vehicles for inspections. There was a discussion regarding the benefits of contract employees versus full-time employees, and Mr. Toris noted the issues of contract employees because many contract employees do not seem to be as invested in the city. Ms. Knaack explained that although the city hasn't gotten smaller, the code inspection department has; therefore, Ms. Knaack suggested weekend coverage for the city. Councilmember Tolmachoff stated that there are three employees working on Saturdays. Mr. Crow asked how the committee should assist Mr. Fitzer, and Mr. Crow requested progress reports and specific instruction of how the committee can help. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if some of the departments are understaffed. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark explained that the committee used to receive detailed budgets for each department, but this does not occur any longer. The committee and Mr. Fitzer hope to have further details in how they can help one another improve the Development Services Department. e. Review of parking regulations Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark introduced the parking regulations issues to the committee and explained that she researched information from standard parking stalls in the surrounding cities of Phoenix, Peoria, Scottsdale, and Tempe. All of the parking varies from city to city. Glendale is most generous for standard parking stall spaces (10' x 20'). In multi -family complexes, the stalls might be slightly smaller, and these smaller stalls are great because one of the greatest issues in multi -family complexes is parking. In downtown, there are some 2 -hour parking spaces, and this 2 -hour limit is never enforced. There are also issues with the large amounts of asphalt used in commercial parking lots because they hold so much heat. In addition, many high school parking lots have specific requirements which the students do not meet, thus resulting in students parking on residential streets nearby. A lack of ADA parking is the last written issue that Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark noted. Finally, the "general requirements" under parking codes state that no commercial vehicles should be allowed in residential areas. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark requested that the committee address each of these during their discussion. Ms. Knaack noted that these standards were set in 1993, and the standards were progressive for the time. Ms. Knaack commented on the ADA parking and the multi -family complexes. Mr. Crow noted that the differing sizes between the cities might correlate to population density. Mr. Adams frankly expressed his frustration with compact parking spaces, and he then explained that calculating how many ADA spaces are necessary per lot is difficult to determine. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark stated to Mr. Fitzer that the committee wants parking to be adaptable, to increase compact and ADA spaces, and retain some 10' x 20' spaces. Mr. Crow asked what the typical size is for compact spaces, and Mr. Fitzer stated that the width is 8' for 3 compact spaces. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how ride sharing influences these parking spaces, and Councilmember Tolmachoff then suggested a drop-off and pick-up zones. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark asked the committee to certainly consider how the market dictates the parking choices, but then the committee also must consider what they think the city be willing to provide. Ms. Knaack noted that mass transit and bicycle lanes are present in the larger cities noted at the beginning of this discussion. Ms. Knaack hypothesized that many parking spots will regularly be empty due to online shopping and Uber/Lyft drivers. In regards to the 2 -hour downtown Glendale parking, the committee agreed that the 2 - hour parking signs should not be removed. In addition, there should also be clear advertising for the free public parking in the parking garage. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark suggested credits/incentives for bicycle, street parking, or Uber stations. Vice Mayor Chairperson Clark noted that there is a master plan for bicycle lanes throughout Glendale. The committee then discussed their concerns with bicycle lanes or lack thereof. Shortly after, the committee agreed to further discuss this in the next meeting. OTHER BUSINESS No other business was discussed. STAFF REPORT No staff reports were discussed. COMMITTEE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS There were no committee comments or suggestions made. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will take place on August 15th, 2019, at 2 PM. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Knaack made a motion to adjourn the meeting, and it was seconded by Councilmember Tolmachoff. The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:53 PM. Sherry Crapser, Recording Secretary i1