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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 11/15/2019 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 (47 Glendale ARIZONA Meeting Minutes Friday, November 15, 2019 8:00 A.M. Special Meeting State Farm Stadium Board Room 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 8:19 a.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 Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Chris Anaradian. Assistant City Manager Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager SPECIAL MEETING 1. RESOLUTION NO. R19-140 A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, DECLARING THE OFFICIAL CANVASS OF VOTES CAST IN THE CITY OF GLENDALE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD NOVEMBER 5, 2019; DECLARING THE RESULTS OF TWO CITY CHARTER AMENDMENT QUESTIONS: AND ORDERING THAT A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE RESOLUTION BE RECORDED. Presented by: Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Ms. Bower read the resolution by title. A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Vice Mayor Joyce Clark to adopt Resolution No. R19-140. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bad Turner Passed WORKSHOP SESSION City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 2 of 13 2. CITY COUNCIL VISIONING RETREAT Presented by: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Facilitated by: John Crow Ms. Bower read the item by title. Opening Remarks Mr. Phelps provided opening remarks and a case study of Tacoma. Washington and how it executed a successful vision. Looking Into The Future Guest Speaker: Michael Bidwill, Chairman and President of the Arizona Cardinals Mr. Bidwill said there was a lot to celebrate in the City of Glendale. He said a typical resident's main concerns were the quality of schools and jobs. It was important to make the City as business-friendly as possible and communication was crucial. It was important for Council to use new technology and take advantage of the investment that had already been made in the City. Mr. Bidwell said the West Valley fan base was the main reason why the Cardinals had been able to sell out all of its games. Meeting Kickoff Mr. Crow said the goal was to craft a vision for the future. The objective was to create a vision of how things should be not a roadmap on how to get there. The focus would be on four areas: • Parks and Recreation • Transportation • City Facilities • Economic Development Barrel District Presentation Councilmember Turner outlined various issues affecting Barrel District Parks: • Lack of parking • Lack of adequate grading and irrigation resulting in bare dirt around the edges of the parks and bare spots • Lack of shade for playground areas • Lack of maintenance of basketball and tennis courts • Need for a wide, meandering walkway at the future Glen Lakes Park to avoid a tunnel-effect and provide connectivity • Inadequate signage at Sahuaro Ranch Park • Lack of an historian at Sahuaro Ranch Park • Lighting and mold at Sahuaro Ranch Park • Removal of handball courts dues to a lack of use and safety issues Councilmember Turner was looking for safe, attractive parks with useful amenities and removal of unused amenities. The City should hold itself to the same standards that were required of developers. Councilmember Turner made the following comments regarding transportation: • Barrel District was well-served by public transportation that connected all types of amenities • Walking and biking were important to District residents so safety was a concern City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 3 of 13 • Right-of-way areas needed attention •Audible crosswalks for disabled pedestrians Councilmember Turner said the City had made an investment in rights-of-way in the 1980s and as a result, the appearance of City rights-of-way were greatly improved. He said there were missed opportunities when improvements were made to intersections such as 59th Avenue and Olive. There was a lot of concrete and asphalt but no specimen plantings. It was an important intersection and it should be beautiful. Councilmember Turner said all users should have safe streets and attractive rights-of-way. Councilmember Turner made the following comments regarding Barrel District facilities: • Oasis Water Treatment Plant —well-maintained and landscaped. The only issue was the border with the City of Peoria at 71st Avenue should be made more attractive. • Main Library — priority should be to restore library hours. The building needed a refresh and the bathrooms should be modernized. • Fire Station 157—the view issue from Sahuaro Ranch Park of the vehicle storage area due to the removal of trees on the north side needed to be addressed. The City had to be more careful before it did things like that. Councilmember Turner said the City's facilities and furnishings needed to be maintained to a certain standard of care. Councilmember Turner addressed the following economic development issues: • Strategies to convert commercial into multi-family. • Development of a visual improvement program • Hold existing developments to the landscaping standards •Attractive business properties that served the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods Councilmember Turner said the Economic Development Department needed to actively solicit businesses that would meet the needs of the community. Mr. Crow said the consistent theme of Councilmember Turner's presentation was holding to a standard. Cactus District Presentation Councilmember Hugh said his concerns for parks were similar to Councilmember Turner's: • Increase the level of care • Grassless and brown areas • Better maintenance of basketball and tennis courts • Increase safety by removal of the dilapidated and unused raquetball courts Councilmember Hugh said Cactus District parks were a great asset to the Cactus District and were used by residents. He had used district funds to build a shade structure at one of the parks and it had a positive impact on park use. The recreation programs were appreciated. The swimming pool at Rose Lane Park was well-used and was a great amenity. Councilmember Hugh wanted to maintain streets to an acceptable standard. Councilmember Hugh said security was an issue at the Fire Support Services building and at Fire Station 54. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 4 of 13 Councilmember Hugh suggested a public/private partnership to find uses for the vacant buildings at Rose Lane park. Councilmember Hugh said Cactus was an older district and its retail areas had gone through several changes and were difficult areas. The industrial area south of Bethany Home Road had very successful businesses located there. Councilmember Hugh said in the past, Glendale had been out front with a dealership row on Glendale Avenue but the dealerships had moved to other areas. Some of that property was being redeveloped. It would be nice to come up with something that would fit into the area, perhaps residential, for the court site. Councilmember Hugh said his vision was to get streets up to the right level and maintain them in the future. He wanted safe streets and for residents to feel secure and comfortable in their homes. He wanted to see new residential development especially multi-family. Mr. Crow said the vision focused on residential development for the Cactus District. The commercial space could be maximized by first focusing on driving higher density. How would staff address that goal. Mr. Phelps said the question was did the City want to become a catalyst to make it happen by looking at incentive tools. Staff would work with Council to see how to make it happen. Cholla District Presentation Councilmember Tolmachoff highlighted the following issues regarding Cholla District parks: •A need for increased services • More frequent mowing and watering • Improvements to the conditions of parking lots • Buildings and fences needed to be maintained on a regular schedule Councilmember Tolmachoff said there was a Cholla District park that was maintained by the homeowners association (HOA) through a public/private partnership. It had worked great and another park was exploring the same model. To be successful, the City had to look for partnerships. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the skate park needed a partner to take it over so that activities could be monitored. The City did not have the staff to do that. The City had to think outside the box. Councilmember Tolmachoff said her vision for transportation included: •A Citywide priority for beautiful rights-of-way • Working with the HOAs on R-O-W maintenance •A priority for regular street maintenance •A regional solution to improve the crossings at freeway interchanges • Bike lanes should be more identifiable • Safe streets — reduce speeding on City streets Councilmember Tolmachoff said the proximity to the 101 was a major reason why people chose to reside in the Cholla District. Vice Mayor Clark said another reason was that Cholla was clean and attractive and there were many desirable neighborhoods in the District. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 5 of 13 Councilmember Tolmachoff said that was due to the HOA requirements instead of just code enforcement. A higher standard was demanded. Councilmember Tolmachoff said her vision for facilities was to have an achievable plan to maintain existing facilities. There should be maintenance schedules and appropriate funding. Citywide there was an incredible amount of deferred maintenance. A plan and budget to maintain facilities was necessary. She said lighting in parks and parking lots was important to safety. Facilities should be well lit and residents should feel safe walking to their cars. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the City needed a proactive and engaged economic development program. Vacant buildings sent a terrible message to other businesses and were one of the top 5 indicators of urban decay. There had been missed opportunities and economic development had to work proactively to prevent vacancies. There should be a place where businesses could go to get assistance with business challenges such as a business incubator. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted residents to be highly engaged and to think they were part of something special. The City had to meet them where they were. The Parks Master Plan was a perfect example. Interested citizens had to attend scheduled meetings. Why not go out to the parks and talk to the people who were using the parks. She wanted to make citizen engagement a priority. Ocotillo District Presentation Councilmember Aldama said Council should be working to improve all districts instead of just advocating for individual districts. Councilmember Aldama outlined the following transportation issues: • Develop a color palette to make buildings more visually pleasing •Address the homeless situation on Grand Avenue • Neglected rights-of-way •A commuter bus that delivered people to and from downtown and Westgate • Continuation of road maintenance Councilmember Aldama had the following ideas for economic development: • Development of downtown vacant properties • Increase the size of the Economic Development team • Incentivize development • Continue with special events in the downtown • Make downtown a destination Councilmember Aldama said the Ocotillo District was the oldest and most historic district in the City and was home to retirees and multi-generational families. It was beautiful and mature but had challenges because it was an aging district. It needed investment. Vacant properties were popping up and homes were not being rebuilt. Councilmember Aldama was okay with higher density in the District and the City needed to take advantage of the opportunities that vacant parcels presented. The District needed more affordable housing. Ocotillo was the only district that had two public housing developments. Both were 50 years old and it was time to demolish them and create something modern. Councilmember Aldama said moving City Hall would decimate downtown because it was an anchor. City Hall needed to be cleaned and painted because it was not aesthetically pleasing. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 6 of 13 Councilmember Aldama related the following with regard to Ocotillo District parks: •A water amenity was needed at O'Neal Park such as a splash pad • Engage the community to see what amenities were wanted • Orangewood Park needed to be maintained •What was planned for the parcel that had previously been proposed as a sports complex • Take the fences down on the four or five parks with fields that were kept locked • Create partnerships with school districts to be able to use school fields • Homelessness was an issue in District parks • Take a proactive approach to maintaining the parks and the amenities • Be equitable with regard to amenities • Replace amenities that were damaged • Graffiti was an issue Councilmember Aldama said the Ocotillo District contained two of the largest car dealerships in the state as well as Ceretta's Candy. It was also home to light industrial that was located right next to residential areas and Code Enforcement had to start addressing bad behaviors. Councilmember Aldama wanted cleaner rights-of-way to promote curb appeal. He wanted staff to be proactive about identifying needs in the districts. Mr. Crow said themes included standard of care and public-private partnerships. Sahuaro District Presentation Councilmember Malnar said with regard to parks, there were 15 parks in the Sahuaro District. There was room for consolidation. He had the following comments: • Parks maintenance was the number one concern • Parks with great amenities that residents really wanted to visit • Demographics would change as new young families moved in •The berm at Talavi was not being maintained • Skunk Creek Park and Paseo Racquet Center Park were not being maintained Councilmember Malnar said his vision was to have a "wow" factor that said the City was a nice place to live. The Sahuaro District parks were lacking. The City needed to remind developers what their obligations were. He suggested the City partner with Peoria and the County to create something pleasing and an amenity for the entire community. Councilmember Malnar had the following comments on transportation: • Maintain the roads •Transportation options were lacking and improvements should be made for senior riders • Provide education regarding the responsibility for maintenance of rights-of-way • Public/private partnership with HOAs for right-of-way maintenance • Entrances to the City were lacking, there was no "wow" factor Councilmember Malnar said the privately operated Paseo Racquet Center had been resurfaced and there had been an increase in use. It could be an economic driver. He wanted to make sure the parking lot was taken care and that it was made to look more inviting and was well-maintained. Councilmember Malnar said there were opportunities in the Sahuaro District for economic development. Sales were up 12% this year at the Arrowhead Towne Center Mall. The City could not just assume everything would be fine. It needed to support the mall and partner with it to City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 7 of 13 insure the longevity and that it was an attraction center for the region. He suggested the City partner with the mall on special events. The City had to take care of what it had and participate as a partner with the businesses for a positive future. Councilmember Malnar said the Arizona Christian University could be another economic engine for the City. Councilmember Malnar said his vision was visual, how did the City look. Yucca District Presentation Vice Mayor Clark provided a packet of information regarding the Yucca District. Vice Mayor Clark said the Yucca District was diverse with neighborhoods built in the 1960s to brand new construction. Since 2000, population had grown by 104% and the growth would continue. Vice Mayor Clark said there were ten retention basins in the District that were counted as part of the park system but were not named and had no amenities. She had the following comments on Yucca District parks: • Parks were not maintained to the right standard • Parks should be beautified and include public art • Retention basins could be turned into public art areas •Why are retention basins being counted as park acreage • Racquetball courts should be demolished due to lack of use Vice Mayor Clark said Heroes Park was 80 acres but only a portion of it had been developed in 20 years. The City had an obligation to complete the park. She asked if the sports fields on 91st Avenue, in front of the stadium, could be moved to Heroes Park and the property sold. Vice Mayor Clark had the following comments regarding transportation: • 91st Avenue was lacking service • Extend Bethany Home Road to 91st Avenue • Develop a schedule for remediation and maintenance • Identify all rights-of-way • Make the airport competitive • Major arterials did not have enough capacity and looked terrible Vice Mayor Clark said most of the facilities in the Yucca District had been built since 2000 and just needed to be put on a maintenance schedule. She wanted to create good work environments for employees. The downtown City Hall building should be used exclusively for providing direct customer service to citizens and administration should be moved to Westgate. Developers worked with administration and those offices should be located in an attractive facility. She wanted to concentrate on selling City property such as the Arena the Thunderbird Lounge building and Camelback Ranch, if possible and re-purposing the Civic Center, Vice Mayor Clark said economic development was exploding in the Yucca District but there was no super market in the District. There was little or no office inventory in the City and she supported going vertical to get the mass needed. She wanted to see the following: • Code enforcement that successfully stabilized older neighborhoods • Effective communication with all segments of the population • Discontinuation of the practice of allowing the concentration of businesses that offered loans City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 8 of 13 and liquor which encouraged blight • Strong medical cluster associated with Dignity Hospital • Improved bus stops that provide shade to encourage people to use mass transit • Electric charging stations located throughout the City Vice Mayor Clark said her vision included a completed Heroes Park; attractive, clean, safe and affordably maintained parks; equitable completion of parks; safe and well-located public facilities; two city halls; divestment of City property; continued robust economic development; code enforcement to stabilize older neighborhoods; effective communication; competitive airport; attractive bus stops; and a grocery store located in the Yucca District. Councilmember Hugh supported selling City property and a new City Hall. He said the vacant buildings in downtown had increased and he would like to see a plan to address the issue. Vice Mayor Clark was ready to sell fire sale prices as an incentive. The City needed to change the make-up of downtown by creating a major entertainment destination. Councilmember Aldama said moving a component of City Hall was okay but not because it did not look good. Part of his vision was to make City Hall attractive so people wanted to visit. The City needed to address what needed to be fixed at City Hall, but moving it to Westgate was not the answer. Councilmember Tolmachoff said Council had been talking about City Hall for years. It was ugly and sent a terrible message. The Urban Land Institute had confirmed it but moving out would not make the building go away. It was a problem that had to be solved. It sent a message about the City's priorities and what it thought about itself. Mr. Crow suggested first exploring what could be done to improve the downtown and then consider moving City Hall after improvements were made. Mayor's Presentation Mayor Weiers said the airport was a treasure and the City was not taking advantage of it. He suggested the following: • Look at growing the east side commercially • Promote commercial traffic • Fuel sales were revenue to the City • Low river crossing at the south end of the airport to Ball Park Boulevard to encourage more traffic to go to the airport • Regain the pilots' trust • Direct flights from Mexico for general aviation •Work with the FAA Mayor Weiers made the following suggestions: • Lighting that was inviting in downtown •Turn the vacant lot into an open market or for events on the weekends • Use the vacant buildings at Rose Lane Park to partner with Phoenix Rescue Mission for a food bank •Trade schools at Arrowhead Towne Center Mall •Assist Luke Air Force Base (AFB) with its growth • Continue work with Habitat for Humanity even more aggressively • Improve the entry points into downtown Glendale • Develop a theme for the downtown City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 9 of 13 • Serious crackdown on speeding with better enforcement Mayor Weiers made the following comments regarding economic development: • Increase Economic Development Department staff to take care of and retain existing business • Need a business development department to help retain and grow existing businesses • Not opposed to discussing the relocation of City Hall • Partner with the Arizona Coyotes to welcome winter visitors from Canada • Utilize park space in Ocotillo District for special events •A train from Glendale to Williams for Grand Canyon visitors • Look at tiny houses for vacant properties to address affordable housing and the homeless • Replace racquetball courts with basketball courts • Be more aggressive with the Glendale Works Program •Additional fire station • Heroes Park Lake —flow water to and from the canal • Public art on the side of the landfill • Partner with the Tohono O'odham Nation and the casino on a circulator bus •Would like the State's new veteran's home to be in Glendale • Larger medical areas • Be good leaders and not focus on just one sector of the economy • Be responsive to changes • Be an employment center • Invest to support growth •A culture of accountability Group Discussion Councilmember Aldama said until the Council started to invest in the district with the most challenges, he could not support increasing rates because he had to be able to justify his vote to Ocotillo District residents. He wanted to look at items that needed fixing and prioritize them over the next years such as parks and rights-of-way. The Ocotillo District had lost its identity. He wanted a District that people were very proud of and the City had to be committed to investing in the District. It could be done incrementally. Councilmember Tolmachoff believed that the challenges in the Ocotillo District were everyone's challenges. The goal was to generate revenue. When the City gave incentives, the math had to show that there was enough revenue being generated to pay for the things that needed to get done. She wanted to stop the north/south debate. Economic development needed to generate revenue. Councilmember Hugh said there was great development going on and Glendale was the place to be. He wanted to keep the momentum going. He did not think City Hall was ugly. The downtown was not that big and he wanted staff to provide things that would change downtown. He was open to all options. Mayor Weiers said partnerships were key. He wanted to give businesses the opportunity to invest money and be successful. The additional staff included permitting and building, not just economic development. The City had to look for opportunities to make things happen and take advantage of the opportunities. Vice Mayor Clark said the City's annual debt had prevented it from pursuing many things. The debt was not going away any time soon and that was why economic development was so important. There were more benefits from economic development than just revenue and it was necessary to upgrade the City's image. She said the number one priority for her was economic City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15. 2019 Page 10 of 13 development because it generated the revenue. The City had big problems and she was not sure they were surmountable. Mayor Weiers said it would take a team effort Councilmember Tolmachoff was not against economic development but Council had to have its eyes wide open and know what the numbers were. Councilmember Turner said the City needed to be very smart about economic development and being aggressive got the City Camelback Ranch. It was much smarter to use the 34-to-1 model instead of economic multipliers. It was necessary to do the math to figure out the reality. Councilmember Turner said the vision for downtown was to make it an entertainment district. He asked how moving the court to the Civic Center supported that vision. It would signal to the community that the City was giving up on downtown if City Hall was moved. Councilmember Turner would like to see the data that proved Glendale was doing the best in economic development in the West Valley. The City really needed households with disposable income instead of another park. Councilmember Turner said the train crossing through downtown was a big transportation and image issue for the City. Councilmember Turner wanted to stay focused on the idea that Glendale was a community first and the highest priority was the neighborhoods and the people who lived in them. Councilmember Tolmachoff said other similar downtowns had turned it around with grants and matching funds. Families moved in and businesses popped up. Mayor Weiers said there was a difference between being aggressive and being stupid. Indecision could also lead to bad outcomes. Vice Mayor Clark said no one could have predicted the future during the development of Camelback Ranch and the arena. The Council was told the City would make buckets of money. No one could have predicted that the economy would go south. The past could not be changed. Councilmember Turner said the City had to learn from the past and the mistakes made. Councilmember Malnar said the City needed hundreds of millions of dollars. There had been no discussion about what was available to generate the money needed and what could be done to raise that kind of money. The Westgate area had a huge potential. What were the opportunities in the Loop 303 area. The focus should be on how the City was going to generate a half billion dollars over the next ten years. Mr. Crow said problems had always been solved by revenue generation not expense cutting so it had to remain the focus. Mr. Phelps said the vision should be around financial sustainability. Then it became an easy job of prioritizing. Downtown was not where the focus on economic development should be. The vision should be crafted around the City's assets in terms of jobs and private investment. There were two economic engines — the 101 and the 303. There needed to be education on how economic models worked and discussion about rate of return. There was work to be done to become financially sustainable. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 11 of 13 Mayor Weiers said those types of questions were routinely asked and answered. Mr. Phelps said new concepts had been discussed today such as the airport. With Ball Park Boulevard, the amount of new construction should be shown, not just sales tax. Councilmember Tolmachoff said Council was shown a cost of $6 million which increased to $11 million at the next presentation and it was currently at $13 million. There needed to be better communication. The City had dramatically increased the value of the land for the owner but how did it help the residents. Councilmember Turner did not think any Councilmember thought economic development in downtown was going to float the City. Today's exercise was to look at the Council district in relation to the four areas. The reason the City needed the money was as important as where it was going to get it. Councilmember Turner left the meeting. Mr. Crow said the exercise had been to define the problem and then find the solution. Councilmember Aldama was not implying that downtown was an economic driver. The City needed a successful downtown. It also had to recognize that there would not be development impact fees (DIF) except for in the Yucca District. Next Steps Mr. Crow asked Council to think about the three or four elements that would be economic drivers. He looked forward to the next meeting in January. Mr. Phelps had heard consistency on the "why" for raising the money and the discussion would shift to the "how." Staff would lay out the key elements and provide it to Council. From there, the basic tenent of a vision would be developed which would include policy decisions and financial principles. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to adjourn the meeting AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Other: Councilmember Bart Turner (ABSENT) Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 4:36 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 15, 2019 Page 12 of 13 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 15th day of November, 2019. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 27th day of November, 2019. Fie K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes- November 15, 2019 Page 13 of 13