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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 2/18/2020 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 Glendale ARIZONA Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 18, 2020 9:00 A.M. Budget Workshop Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ray Malnar Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner 1 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ray Malnar Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager WORKSHOP SESSION 1. FY20-21 BUDGET WORKSHOP Presented by: Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Lisette Camacho, Director, Budget and Finance Amy Lindsay, Budget Administrator, Budget and Finance Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Camacho provided an overview of the presentation: • Follow Up Items • Bond Committee Update • Review of G.O. Bond funded capital projects • Project updates Councilmember Tolmachoff believed the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) was engaged in late 2015 which was different than what was being presented. Ms. Camacho said the AEG contract was executed in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the 38-511 was invoked in June 2015. Ms. Rios did not have exact information, but staff could follow up with Council. Mayor Weiers asked that the dates be sent to Council. Mr. Bailey said the 38-511 was invoked in June 2015, however, when litigation ensued, there was a restraining order that moved quarterly payments to 2016. The matter was resolved at the end of 2016, and it was FY2017 when AEG was engaged. Councilmember Tolmachoff said Ms. Camacho had indicated an anticipation of lower arena management fees. The arena management fee did not change until the case was resolved. She was confused by the numbers being presented. City Council Meeting Minutes - February 18, 2020 Page 2 of 7 Ms. Camacho said the figures were budgeted numbers, which was the reason for the increase in FY2015 as the City paid out a $16 million management fee to the NHL. It was anticipated through the budget process but did not occur until FY2016. Ms. Rios said Council had asked what the 0.7% Sales Tax was used toward. Much of the tax went toward paying debt service. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if staff had an amortization schedule for the General Fund debt service through the outyears. Ms. Rios said there was a schedule. Councilmember Clark said the food tax could gradually be reduced and recommended further Council discussion and suggested a 0.3% rate. Councilmember Clark asked if the audit of the Residential Rental Program paid for the employee hired to track the program. Ms. Rios said it paid for the employee and more. Ms. Camacho introduced three members of the Bond Committee, Chair Jon Froke, Vice Chair Lisa Baker, and Committee Member Gary Hirsch. Mr. Froke said the Committee had been meeting since November. The Committee was making progress and had received good guidance from staff. It was focused on delivering a package for Council consideration with a bond election in 2020. Councilmember Aldama asked if any flood irrigation infrastructure was being considered for inclusion in the bond. Ms. Rios said the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) had been presented to the Committee. The Committee would look at all park infrastructure, including irrigation. Councilmember Clark asked if the Committee was only looking at projects in the CIP, what the possibility was for new projects. She asked how new projects were being presented and was additional capacity being presented to the Committee for new projects. Ms. Rios explained staff had not presented anything that was not in the 10-year CIP. If new projects were added to the 10-Year CIP after the budget process, staff would update the Bond Committee. Councilmember Tolmachoff inquired about the level of detail presented to the Committee. Ms. Rios said the presentations were not detailed. Council would weigh in on the additional projects through the next CIP. Other departments were able to provide specific projects to the Committee. Councilmember Tolmachoff confirmed that because the Parks Master Plan would not be finished in time for the bond election, a general parks authorization would be requested and during the next CIP cycle, specific project allocations would be determined. Ms. Rios said that was correct. Councilmember Clark asked when the Parks Master Plan would be completed. City Council Meeting Minutes- February 18, 2020 Page 3 of 7 Ms. Rios said an update would be provided to Council in April. The Master Plan was expected to be completed before the end of the summer. Ms. Rios said no G.O. Bonds were anticipated for transportation, but the Committee had requested a presentation from the Transportation Department. Council would receive information regarding additional bond authorization for the libraries. Councilmember Tolmachoff thanked the Bond Committee members for their commitment and attendance at the Committee meetings. Ms. Lindsay provided information on available G.O. Bond Capacity; a chart indicating which departments had remaining bond capacity in relation to the adopted FY20 CIP; and the draft FY21 CIP. Councilmember Turner said there was approximately $50 million in authorization for open space and trails, yet no projects were identified. He asked if staff had identified any future projects and what projects were identified for the initial $50 million request. Ms. Rios said the ballot language was very specific. The funds were for open space, trails, and linear projects. There were no specific projects identified. Councilmember Turner asked if the funds could be used for the preservation and acquisition of open space and improving public access to and use of open space. Ms. Rios said staff would ask the City's bond counsel if a project would qualify under the open space and trails ballot language. Councilmember Clark said there was $6.7 million in authorization for transportation and asked if some could be used for bus stop improvements. Ms. Rios said it could be discussed with the Transportation Department. Councilmember Clark indicated the watering system for Grand Canal Linear Park had not worked properly for several years. She asked if the open space and trails authorization could be used for remediation in the linear parks. Ms. Rios would discuss the request with the Parks and Recreation staff. Councilmember Tolmachoff agreed with Councilmember Clark regarding improvements to bus stops. She asked if the use of the $6.7 million for transit authorization would fit within the secondary property tax. Ms. Rios said approximately $175 million was identified for G.O. Bonds. There was approximately $11 million in available authority without raising the secondary property tax. Some of the $11 million was used by additional costs for the projects. Staff would present an update on the costs of some of the projects and Council would determine how the capacity was used. Ms. Rios said the available amount for the draft FY21 CIP was down to about $5 million, so the $6 million could be used for transit capacity but would bring the amount close to the $175 million in capacity. Ms. Rios said the goal was for the City to be able to issue debt every few years to avoid a situation where a lot of infrastructure had deteriorated and $175 million had to be infused at once. City Council Meeting Minutes - February 18, 2020 Page 4 of 7 It was better to issue debt a little at a time. Councilmember Clark said with $5 million available, $1 million from open space and trails and $1 million from transit could be used and still remain within budget. Ms. Rios said that was correct. Councilmember Clark said moving the Prosecutor's Office had been identified as a priority. She said it was unacceptable that it had been included in FY21. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for clarification of the cost for the Prosecutor's Office project. Michelle Woytenko, Field Operations Director, said assessments were done on the project and the scenarios for moving the Prosecutor's Office to the Sine Building included minimal remodel through a full remodel. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center (GRPSTC) was included as a project. It was one of the newer buildings in the City. She asked about the project details. Ms. Woytenko replied the project was budgeted for FY20 and FY21. Mr. Phelps said the project of moving Fire Administration was previously discussed in several workshops. The medical area had to be redesigned for Fire Administration's operational needs. Staff would come back to Council with three scenarios for the Sine Building's design. Cost research had been conducted and would be brought back to Council for direction. Mayor Weiers asked Ms. Woytenko to include a timeline for completion of each scenario. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the cost to move the Fire Administration out of the Sine Building was $2.75 million. Ms. Woytenko said the cost, identified in FY19-20, was $800,000 for the GRPSTC remodel. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about the use of the $7.5 million. Ms. Woytenko explained the $7.5 million was identified for infrastructure for other public safety buildings. Mr. Phelps said placeholders were used for budgets and as the project neared, specific project details would become available. Councilmember Clark said Fire Station 157 was at the top of the "building needs assessment" ranking. She asked if its immediate needs were correctly addressed, why was there $2.6 million remaining in budget. Ms. Woytenko said building components were discussed as part of the needs assessment. Some components were more urgent than others. Urgent needs would be taken care of sooner and once determined, the $2.6 million allocated for FY26-30 would be adjusted. Councilmember Clark asked why Fire Station 157 was ranked so high in Building Needs Assessment and why it did not receive funding sooner and if Station 153 could be pushed out further. City Council Meeting Minutes- February 18, 2020 Page 5 of 7 Ms. Woytenko said the building structure of 157 was good and staff had obtained pricing for its urgent needs which totaled $7.5 million. There was a transportation component at 157 as well as parking issues which comprised the larger outyears budget amount. Station 153 had an exterior wall and a domestic water issue. Councilmember Clark said 153 had deficient carbon monoxide detection and 157 had no sprinklers. She asked if those issues were addressed with the $7.5 million. Ms. Woytenko replied the carbon monoxide issue at 153 was assessed and could be a one to two-year project. Station 157 did not have sprinklers but did have a fire alarm system. Staff was reviewing how the project could fit in. Some needs were newly identified. The placeholders were best estimates prior to the assessments being conducted. Mayor Weiers asked for the location of Fire Station #157. Ms. Woytenko said 157 was on 59th Avenue next to Sahuaro Ranch Park. Mayor Weiers asked if the fire station on Union Hills was the one with severe parking issues. Ms. Woytenko said that was correct. Mayor Weiers said it could become a security issue and asked about the plan to address parking at the station. Ms. Woytenko reported the $7.5 million included the gate, fence and parking at Foothills, which was a joint Police and Fire location. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it would be helpful to provide a list of what was being considered in the $7.5 million. She said more detailed reports would be helpful. Councilmember Turner said 157 was twenty-three years old, but was described as beyond its useful life. He asked for a definition of the useful life of a station. Ms. Woytenko said the correct wording should be that some of the components were beyond their useful life. In general, there was a fifty-year lifespan for the buildings. Councilmember Tolmachoff noted the same description of"beyond its useful life" was on other fire station project descriptions. She asked if it referred to the components or the buildings. Ms. Woytenko said there were constraints on the number characters that could be used. All of the descriptions should indicate the components were beyond useful life. Councilmember Tolmachoff said with all the needs in the City, more detailed information made the process easier. Mr. Phelps explained the challenges with the assessment process and project allocation. He appreciated Councilmember Clark's frustration with the delay in moving the Prosecutor's Office. The City was doing a lot of catch-up as an organization. Once the process started moving along, it would begin to move more smoothly. Councilmember Turner said residents did watch the meetings. If items were not clear to Council, it would be doing a disservice to residents by not asking for more information and clarifying issues. City Council Meeting Minutes - February 18, 2020 Page 6 of 7 Councilmember Tolmachoff said the information was not only what the public saw but was part of the City record. She said the project description for the Public Safety Building Remodels was confusing and requested a list of items for the $7.5 million. Councilmember Clark said the City paid for a building needs assessment but did not use the needs assessment for determining the priority for repairing buildings. All of the needs identified would be expensive. Councilmember Clark said the buildings were landlocked and asked where the land for parking would be obtained and at what cost. Some needs identified were not included in the assessment. Further information was needed. Vice Mayor Malnar noted some of the projects had been discussed many times at workshops. He suggested summaries of project discussions to aid in recollection and lessen additional questions. Mr. Phelps said staff brought information, recommendations and a variety of options to Council. Mr. Phelps summarized Council's request for a more updated project list, more detailed project descriptions and justifications. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the presentation indicated the new Police Evidence Storage Project would be phased with the Fields Operations Campus. The discussion about the location of the Prosecutor's Office had been that the current site would work for the evidence storage building. She asked for clarification. Ms. Woytenko said there would be an assessment of the project before a location was chosen. The project description should be changed to reflect that the location would be determined along with the needs. Councilmember Tolmachoff said residents would likely not read the meeting minutes and would only look at the slides. The meeting attendees were not only talking to each other but to the residents as well. Mr. Phelps said the City was in an aggressive catch-up phase of the CIP. He suggested a monthly workshop or meeting regarding the status of the CIP projects. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers aadjourned the meeting at 10:36 a.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 18th day of February, 2020. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 4th day of March, 2020. J p. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes- February 18, 2020 Page 7 of 7