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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 3/17/2020City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 Glendale A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Tuesday, March 17, 2020 9:00 A.M. Special Meeting & 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 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ray Malnar Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Bart Turner Absent: Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Councilmember Tolmachoff arrived after the roll was called at 9:05 a.m. SPECIAL MEETING PUBLIC HEARING 1. BETHANY 303 AN -211 ANNEXATION — SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SARIVAL AVENUE AND THE MARYLAND AVENUE ALIGNMENT Presented by: Lisa Collins, Interim Development Services Director Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Collins requested Council conduct a public hearing on the blank annexation petition for the Bethany 303 annexation application (AN -211). The annexation was approximately 76 acres in size and was located between Sarival and Alsup Avenues on the south side of Maryland Avenue. A 1.25 million square foot industrial complex was being proposed. Ms. Collins said a rezoning application for a Planned Area Development (PAD) was scheduled to go before the Planning Commission. After that, Council would hear the annexation adoption and the PAD at a future meeting. Councilmember Tolmachoff arrived at the meeting. Councilmember Turner asked why a special meeting was necessary. Ms. Collins said the item was scheduled in order to meet timing requirements for annexation and the blank petition. Councilmember Turner asked for an explanation on the PAD zoning. Ms. Collins said the current county zoning for the site was residential (RR -43). Like -zoning in the City would be RR -45. Once annexed, the site would receive like -zoning, however, the zoning City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 2 of 12 application for PAD was being processed at the same time. If the site was not re -zoned, it would not be in conformance with the General Plan and would not meet the Luke Air Force Base (Luke) compatible land uses. Compatible land uses did not include residential and in order to develop the site, it was necessary to change the zoning. Councilmember Turner asked if there was a timeline for the re -zoning and when the item would be discussed before the Planning Commission and Council. Ms. Collins said the item was scheduled for a hearing at the next Planning Commission meeting and the City Council hearing was scheduled for March 24th. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how residential communities near the site were notified. She also asked how the 300 -foot requirement was measured. Ms. Collins said the 300 feet was measured from the edge of the property and the hearing dates were posted on the property. The corners of the property were posted for visibility. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there was a requirement for a certain number of signs per acre. Ms. Collins said two signs were posted. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the City needed to do its best to notify neighborhoods on what was happening. Mayor Weiers opened the public hearing. No one wished to speak on the item. Mayor Weiers closed the public hearing. NEW BUSINESS 2. UPDATE AND DISCUSSION REGARDING CORONAVIRUS SITUATION Presented by: Deputy Fire Chief Jeff McMenemy Nicole Munson, Emergency Services Coordinator Ms. Bower read the item by title. Deputy Chief McMenemy provided a presentation on COVID-19, which included the following: • Current Situation as of March 16th — number of confirmed cases nationally and in Arizona • Locally • Monitoring information from CDC, Arizona Department of Health Services, Maricopa County Public Health Department, and neighboring cities and towns • Reviewing existing plans and implementing actions • Created a Pandemic Planning Guide • Emergency Plan • Schools have closed, declarations of emergencies: national and state • Social distancing, sanitizing, telecommuting policies • Participating in conference calls with authorities/partners and in the Multi -Agency Coordination Center • Regionally • Weekly Meetings City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 3 of 12 • Glendale Fire, Police and Public Affairs Participating • Joint Information Center (JIC) • PPE, sanitizers, supplies • Consistent messaging • State of Arizona Emergency Operations Center activated Mayor Weiers asked if it was correct that because Governor Ducey had made a Declaration of Emergency, the City did not need to do so. Deputy Chief McMenemy said that was correct. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there were more resources available to cities that had declared a state of emergency. Deputy Chief McMenemy said the City relied on Maricopa County's Public Health Department for declarations of health emergencies. It would be different if the incident originated in the City. The City would declare the emergency first, followed by the county and the state. The City was open to all resources. Mr. Phelps said Gilbert and Flagstaff had made declarations because both had charter provisions that precluded shutting down public facilities without declaring an emergency. Councilmember Clark asked why the City was not closing restaurants, bars, and cafes, in order to be serious about social distancing. The federal government was looking at a bailout package through the Small Business Administration. Arizona was ahead of the curve but in order to stay ahead, it needed to take social distancing very seriously. She suggested the City be proactive and take a stand similar to Flagstaff. Deputy Chief McMenemy said Glendale was part of a multi -agency coordination group and the group followed the recommendations of Maricopa County Health and the CDC. The virus was coming and the idea was to take consistent actions to flatten the curve. The group met every day with the City Manager's core group and the City Manager was quick to make decisions based on the discussions. Councilmember Clark asked what the City was doing to follow the social distancing directive within facilities and how the City encouraged the public to follow social distancing. Mr. Phelps said staff continued to update the City's website and was trying to be proactive in eliminating social gatherings that did not impact citizens' well-being. Public health was about protecting the security and safety of the citizens. His direction was consistent with regional coordination efforts and he recommended that the City continue to follow the recommendation to maintain consistency with surrounding jurisdictions. Councilmember Tolmachoff had received calls from residents asking if the City was aware of the Covid-19 issue since no communication was made. She asked who made decisions and if Council would be included in discussions. Governor Ducey had asked people to stay home and limit groups to less than ten but had not closed bars and restaurants. She asked who would be present to make a decision for the City. Mr. Phelps said there was an Incident Command Structure (ICS) in place and the City was following its Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). Council had been sent a detailed briefing and staff was doing its best to keep Council and the public informed. The team was behind on the initial communication but was not behind on planning and making good decisions. Closures of City facilities and canceled programs were posted on the City's website. City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 4 of 12 Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if Council would be at the table when and if the decision was made to close restaurants and bars. Mr. Phelps would follow up on the legal authority for that. He followed the recommendations of the City's Emergency Management Team (EMT). If Council felt strongly about closing bars and restaurants, it could be discussed. The EMT was not trying to get ahead of Council on policy issues. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if someone was assigned as a point person to provide information to the public. Mr. Phelps said Deputy City Manager Brent Stoddard and the Public Affairs team was responsible for internal and external communication. Councilmember Tolmachoff requested a briefing every few days from the public information officer (PIO). She had not received information from the City. Mr. Phelps had sent several memos and expected regular communication going forward. The team would make sure communication was all it needed to be. Councilmember Tolmachoff requested that one person be designated for communications. Councilmember Aldama asked Mr. Phelps to continue doing what he was doing, take the lead, and get the right people in place for areas that were lagging. He agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoff that if Mr. Phelps saw the need to close businesses, Council needed to be informed. Mayor Weiers said it was an unprecedented event and required everyone to work together to find the best course of action to move forward. Councilmember Clark asked if it was correct that Mr. Phelps and his team would decide on closing bars and restaurants and not Council. She asked about the status of testing in the state and if there would be drive-thru testing. Ms. Munson said there was testing in the state and efforts were underway for drive-thru services. Councilmember Clark agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoff that there should be one PIO point person to provide the public with the most up-to-date information on the City's website and to push out information to Council and City employees. Mr. Phelps said when it came to asking citizens to do certain things, it required a proclamation by the Mayor. He said exceptions would be if the Governor ordered sheltering in place. He would continue to monitor the situation and anticipated that the next steps taken would be at a City or state policy level. Mayor Weiers said he would have to excuse himself from the meeting at some point to participate in a briefing with the Governor's Office regarding COVID-19. Councilmember Turner suggested providing regular updates at 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. He was not comfortable only following the lead of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the President or the Governor. Mr. Phelps said PIO Jose Santiago had been made the point person for daily Council updates - mid-morning and end of day. Council had the authority to order businesses closed. City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 5 of 12 Vice Mayor Malnar said the City was on the right path in following the state and regional guidelines and felt more comfortable relying on the experts in the area to move forward on recommendations. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the Joint Information Center (JIC) had met since the Governor updated the social distancing requirement. Deputy Chief McMenemy replied the JIC met the day of the updated announcement. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it was difficult to maintain social distancing with the bars and restaurants open. Deputy Chief McMenemy said recommendations changed daily in reaction to the virus and the messaging in the media. The Multi -Agency Coordination Center (MACC) and JIC were working to get information out. Councilmember Tolmachoff understood the hesitancy regarding closing businesses, however, recommendations were not followed if the public went to a bar or restaurant. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the group determined what was shared with the public. Deputy Chief McMenemy would verify the information that was released. Vice Mayor Malnar asked for a description of the test and how long it took to obtain results. Deputy Chief McMenemy replied the information changed as improvements were made to the tests. The test was comprised of a nasal swab and sent to a lab with results in approximately five days. Vice Mayor Malnar asked about the fiscal impacts to the City. Mr. Phelps was unsure of the major spending impacts but confirmed restaurant spending and hotel occupancy was down. The Finance team had revised revenue estimates for budget discussions. Council had been vigilant with the rainy -day fund and the balance was close to $50 million. Staff continued to monitor the situation and make recommendations regarding the budget. Vice Mayor Malnar asked if a vaccine would be available for the fall or next season. Deputy Chief McMenemy said some progress on a vaccine had been but it could take six to eighteen months for treatment or vaccination. Councilmember Turner asked how quickly employees could start to work from home and what was done regarding employees who were travelling out of state for work or on a cruise. He was concerned about the long incubation period, limited testing and unintentional transmission. He asked if self -containment policies were put in place. Mr. Phelps said all non-essential travel for City employees had been cancelled. Quarantine issues were treated on an individual basis. Employee risks were being limited and plans for conducting City operations with varying level of employees were in place. Functions such as trash pick-up were essential to maintain public health. There were technology issues that needed to be resolved with so many employees working from home. He would continue to update Council. Councilmember Clark would propose a freeze on all CIP spending at the budget workshop. She City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 6 of 12 supported avoiding additional debt and passing a bare bones budget with placeholders due to the situation. Councilmember Tolmachoff said residents could be assured that water would continue to be supplied to homes. Water was critical to follow the CDC hand washing guidelines. She understood that water shut offs would be suspended. Mr. Phelps said all water shut offs had been suspended. Lisette Camacho, Budget and Finance Director, said late fees for disconnects had also been suspended. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about a platform for the public to participate in City government. Mr. Phelps said there were difficulties in managing the City's open meetings and staying within the requirements. The City had the technology to stream the meetings to the public, however, the challenge was how to allow people to participate. Staff was working on a solution. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the Planning Commission would continue to meet. Mr. Phelps said all board and commission meetings had been cancelled. Planning Commission meetings were determined by the comfort level of the members. There were certain projects reliant on moving forward. Councilmember Tolmachoff said if the Planning Commission continued to meet, she would like to be part of that conversation. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if staff was certain there were no additional resources available upon declaration of an emergency to put the City in a better position. Deputy Chief McMenemy said it was a topic being discussed by the MACC. He would obtain more information for Council. Councilmember Aldama asked about a plan for public housing and Section 8 residents who could possibly be .evicted. Ms. Rios said staff was looking at the issue. Councilmember Turner said residents could email Councilmembers with concerns prior to Council meetings. The written submission could be read aloud into the record during the meeting. Vice Mayor Malnar said Mayor Weiers had left the meeting to participate in a conference call and would return when finished. ADJOURN SPECIAL MEETING Vice Mayor Malnar adjourned the special meeting at 11:06 a.m. CALL TO ORDER Vice Mayor Malnar called the meeting to order at 11:17 a.m. City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 7 of 12 WORKSHOP SESSION 3. 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 presented the Budget Calendar and three follow-up items from the last meeting. Councilmember Clark asked why the Heroes Park projects were not allocated to the respective departments responsible for building the projects, instead of one large project. Ms. Camacho explained the project was in the out -years FY26-30 and the cost was an estimate. She said as the Parks Master Plan was refined, a better idea of costs would be known. The projects could be broken out as the Plan was refined and projects more defined. Councilmember Aldama asked about the fund balance, the original goal of the fund balance, and the amount of proceeds from the Brown Lot and the Bank of America sale. Ms. Camacho did not have the fund balance information but would provide it to the Council. It was likely the City would meet its target goal of $50 million in the fund balance at the end of the fiscal year. She would provide details of the Brown Lot and Bank of America figures to Council by email. Councilmember Aldama said any excess of $50 million from proceeds should be used for needs in parks or other projects. Councilmember Clark said many of the funding sources listed in the CIP were Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF), Transportation Sales Tax, Public Safety Sales Tax or Bonding. She was concerned about what might happen to the economy over the next six months. It could reduce the revenue for projects in FY20-21. Councilmember Clark said staff had identified an additional $4.6 million in CIP. She asked why Council was not informed there was an additional $4.6 million. She wanted a discussion regarding freezing the CIP and asked why $4.6 million in new bonding authority was not communicated to Council. Mr. Phelps cautioned against the use of the term "freeze all CIP" as there were a number of projects already in progress and a number of projects that did not rely on General Fund revenues. Councilmember Clark asked if the projects could be identified so Council had a better picture of what could be scaled back. Mr. Phelps stated all projects in the proposed FY20-21 budget had identified funding sources. Councilmember Clark said the Streets Projects relied on HURF and Transportation Sales Tax, which would take a nose-dive. She asked why new projects were presented which relied on funding sources that would take a hit. Mr. Phelps said there were fund balances in all of those areas that could be drawn upon and said the bigger impact would be for the FY21-22 CIP. City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 8 of 12 Councilmember Clark said there were newly identified projects totaling $4.6 million for FY20-21 and $5 million in FY21-22. She said it was time to be conservative on bond capacity, issuing new bonds, and expectation of sales tax revenues which funded the CIP. The amounts could be allocated but not spent. Mr. Phelps said the $4.6 million project list was to make Council aware of staff recommendations. Councilmember Clark asked why the project on the Northern Parkway Cable Barrier Project for $889,000 for FY20-21 could not be postponed. It might be more prudent to hold off on some of the proposed projects. Trevor Ebersole, Transportation Director, explained the Northern Parkway Cable Barrier Project of $889,000 was 100% federally funded and would be reimbursed to the City. Councilmember Clark asked if the telecom conduits and the 63rd and Northern Avenue traffic signal were both 100% reimbursed. Mr. Ebersole said the projects were not 100% reimbursed. Councilmember Clark asked if the 67th Avenue and Thunderbird intersection improvements were 100% reimbursed. Mr. Ebersole said the rest of the projects on the list were approximately 95% reimbursed. Ms. Lindsay continued the presentation and covered the following topics: • What was a Capital Improvement Plan • CIP Funding Sources • CIP Process • 10 -Year CIP by Project Type: Total $1,072.1 million • 5 -Year Funded CIP Program by Identified Funding Source • CIP Reports Mayor Weiers rejoined the meeting. Councilmember Clark asked about the new projects for the airport FY20-21 CIP. Mr. Ebersole explained most of the airport projects were 95% reimbursable through federal grant funds and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved the list of projects. The only new project was the Airport Building Construction Environmental Assessment of the vacant acreage on the east side of the airport. Councilmember Clark asked when reimbursement would be received. Mr. Ebersole said reimbursement packets were submitted annually. The funds were spent one year and reimbursed in the following year. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how much of the $7.2 million airport CIP was from grants and Transportation Sales Tax. She asked that changes to the CIP be highlighted as had been requested by Council. Ms. Lindsay would prepare a change document to send to Council which would include the funding sources for the airport CIP. City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 9 of 12 Councilmember Tolmachoff said if most of the airport projects were 95% reimbursable, the 5% balance was funded by Transportation Sales Tax. She estimated that approximately $365,000 came from Transportation Sales Tax. Mr. Ebersole said that was correct. He would verify and provide an exact figure. Ms. Lindsay said the two projects funded by Transportation Sales Tax were the Airside Pavement Maintenance of $115,000 in FY20-21 and Airport Matching Funds of $150,000 annually. Councilmember Clark asked what the amount was generated by the 1% of CIP construction for the Arts Projects. Ms. Lindsay said it was approximately $300,000 to $400,000 annually. She would follow up with the exact amount. There was typically carryover and there was a balance of approximately $1 million. Councilmember Turner said the Arts Fund was financed through an internal charge to the construction portion of the CIP. A portion of everything built for the City with City money went to the Arts Fund. He requested information on the amount of funds that were transferred out of the Arts Fund in the past. The Arts Fund also supported live performance and other things that did not fit the definition of capital. Ms. Camacho said it was an internal service charge and was considered a restricted fund. She was not aware of any transfers from the Arts Fund in the past seven years. Councilmember Clark said during the last recession, $1 million was moved from the Arts Fund to fund other City needs. Ms. Lindsay presented the 10 -Year CIP for the Landfill Projects, the Library Projects, the Parking Lots Projects, and the Parks Projects. She said the total change figure on the slide for the Parks Projects for FY19-20 adopted CIP was incorrect. Councilmember Clark said the correct figure was $46 million. Mr. Phelps said that was correct. Councilmember Turner asked if some parks would receive funding even if not listed by name. Ms. Lindsay said that was correct. Once the Parks Master Plan was completed, specific projects would be detailed in the CIP. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about the allocation for the bike park at Foothills. It was her understanding that the project had not moved forward. Ms. Lindsay said that was correct. The discrepancy was discovered after the report was sent to Council. The draft CIP would allocate the funding to pickleball courts at Foothills Park instead of the bike park. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if any projects had been delayed or scaled back. Mr. Ebersole said approximately $5.2 million of the FY19-20 CIP was carried forward. Councilmember Clark commented on the reconstruction of Glendale Avenue between the EI City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 10 of 12 Mirage Road and Loop 101. Concrete was used from 91st to the landfill and asphalt from the 101 to 91st and west of the landfill entrance. Concrete had a longer lifespan than asphalt. The current plan for half and half was the wrong thing to do. Mr. Ebersole said all of the heavy turning movement areas were concrete and the straight-line traffic was asphalt. In the areas of potential further development, concrete was not planned. Councilmember Tolmachoff said $5.2 million was allocated annually for pavement management. She asked if it was only one-third of what was needed. Mr. Ebersole said the topic was on the agenda for an April Workshop to discuss options to close the gap on the Pavement Management Program. Councilmember Turner requested details on the North Glendale Park -and -Ride. Mr. Ebersole said a location at 75th Avenue and Rose Garden had been identified. There were two options: a 2 -acre site in the front of the parcel or a 3 -acre site on another area of the parcel. Staff worked with the owner to identify lease or purchase options and overall cost. He estimated the use would be 50/50 split between Glendale and Peoria residents. Councilmember Turner suggested speaking with Peoria or choosing a location that served only Glendale residents. Councilmember Tolmachoff said there was approximately $2 million of regional funding for the project. Councilmember Turner said the Enterprise Fund and Bond Construction Fund comprised 80% of the CIP, which were not sales tax sensitive. To keep the economy moving, public spending was important and there might be competitive pricing out of a downturn. He did not support putting everything on hold. Departments should prioritize projects for the current year and next year in case of downturn. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for an update on the Luke Air Force Base Wastewater Project regarding the state appropriation. Craig Johnson, Water Services Director, had not received final word from the state legislature but the project was programmed in the budget. Luke would reimburse the City and pay monthly operations and maintenance. Councilmember Tolmachoff did not think there would be an appropriation due to the virus situation. She asked for an amortization schedule to be put in place for Luke repayment. Mr. Johnson said an amortization table would be included in the ten-year agreement. Operations and maintenance would be renewable every ten years. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Councilmember Ian Hugh to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ray Malnar Councilmember Jamie Aldama City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 11 of 12 Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council entered executive session at 12:33 p.m. for legal advice, discussion and consultation regarding the City's position in pending or contemplated litigation, including settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3)(4); and discussion/consultation with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive an update to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney and City Manager regarding Glendale's position in connection with a property at 4705 W. Glendale Avenue pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3)(4)(7). ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 1:32 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 17th day of March, 2020. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 3rd day of April, 2020. Julie K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk l City Council Meeting Minutes - March 17, 2020 Page 12 of 12