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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 5/19/2020City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 C/0"INk &70 Glendale A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 19, 2020 9:00 A.M. Budget Workshop Meeting Civic Center 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 Ian Hugh Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Absent: Councilmember Joyce Clark* Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager *Councilmember Clark arrived at 9:03 a.m. after the roll was called. WORKSHOP SESSION 1. FY2020-21 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 a summary of the budget calendar, presented a review of the May 5, 2020 budget workshop and a draft of the FY21-30 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Ms. Rios presented FY20-21 Budget General Fund changes which included: • Addition of After -School Programming at City -Owned Recreation Centers • New Positions within the General Fund Mayor Weiers shared a discussion he had with a member of the Arizona Christian University regarding the after-school program. He asked for Glendale schools and organizations to be considered before contacting groups in other cities to participate. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for clarification on the reclassification of the position within Parks. Ms. Rios said the position was a conversion of functions to oversee the CIP project management. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked the cost difference for a contractor versus a person in-house. Ms. Rios said typically contractors were more expensive. Mr. Phelps said outside support might still be brought in but having an internal person to City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 2 of 9 coordinate the 10 -year program, oversee assets and follow Council direction would be best. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if an existing employee would be reclassified or a new person was to be hired. Ms. Rios said the Marketing and Communications Manager would be eliminated. The CIP Project Manager position would be reclassed and a new person would be hired. A new recruitment would be conducted for the position when it was reclassified. Councilmember Turner wanted someone with a background in history and historic preservation. Councilmember Aldama asked which library's Lead Library Assistant was considered for the reclass to Volunteer Coordinator. Ms. Rios said the position was vacant. Councilmember Turner asked if there would be a reduction in service with the received transportation grant. Ms. Rios said there would be no reduction in service and the $1.2 million grant would cover other costs as well. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the consensus was to spend contingency. Ms. Camacho said the total operating budget assumed contingency would be spent in the event of an emergency with Council approval. If not used, it would go back into the fund balance. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what the amount was of last budget year's contingency. Ms. Camacho said it was approximately $1.8 million. Mayor Weiers asked if COVID-19-related expenses were known in case of reimbursement. Ms. Camacho said the charges and expenses were being tracked. Mayor Weiers said there was Council consensus for the operating budget. Ms. Lindsay presented the background on the draft CIP. Councilmember Tolmachoff suggested a financial policy that for CIP projects that exceeded contingency, an explanation would be provided to Council stating why the project was over budget and where the funds would come from to complete the project. Councilmember Turner supported the proposed policy. Councilmember Aldama also supported the policy. Councilmember Aldama asked what the City Manager's approval authority was for change orders. Ms. Rios said the City Manager did not have a specific authority amount for change orders. Projects within the same department could be transferred to cover costs. Per the transfer policy, the department director could transfer funds of $50,000 or less. Amounts above $50,000 required the City Manager's approval. City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 3 of 9 Councilmember Clark asked if Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to require Council approval for contingency overages or for Council to be informed of an overage. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted Council to be informed through a workshop. Mr. Phelps suggested an additional element for the proposed policy. If the budgeted amount plus contingency was exceeded, a workshop would be scheduled to provide an explanation. Councilmember Clark asked for clarification on citywide Development Impact Fees (DIF) and Zone DIF. Ms. Camacho said it depended on the applicable legislation. The City had 2 zones per study. The citywide DIF could be used for citywide purposes. The fees were assessed with each development for the development's share of the cost. Councilmember Clark asked what the old DIF was. Ms. Camacho said the old DIF was fees collected prior to Senate Bill 1525. Prior to SB 1525, DIF did not require an improvement plan. The new DIF program required a project to be adopted by the City and within the improvement plan for reimbursement from DIF collected by the City. Councilmember Clark asked for a description of the zone boundaries within the City. Ms. Camacho said there were 3 zones for the second DIF and 2 zones for the newest DIF that was approved by Council. Councilmember Clark asked if Zone 1 east was east of the Loop 101 freeway. Ms. Rios said that was correct. Zone 1 west was west of the Loop 101 freeway. The DIF could only be used on new projects related to growth, not on maintenance of facilities. DIF funds within a zone could only be spent within that zone, not citywide. There was a provision that the DIF had to serve those who paid the fees. Mayor Weiers asked if DIF could be used for a new fire station within the Yucca District. Mr. Bailey said if it was growth -related, then DIF funds could be used. Councilmember Clark asked why the Fleet air compressor had several funding sources. Ms. Rios said the funding sources for the air compressor reflected the users that benefited from the replacement. Councilmember Aldama asked where the Public Works facility renovation was within the budget. Ms. Lindsay said the Glendale Operations Campus project was allocated $200,000 in the budget from the Solid Waste Enterprise fund. Ms. Rios said the full amount was within the 10 -year CIP but the FY20-21 allocation was for building design. The funding was split among each department which benefited from the renovation of the facility. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the project included the police evidence storage facility. Michelle Woytenko, Field Operations Director, said a workshop would be scheduled to discuss the planning process prior to design. City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 4 of 9 Councilmember Clark clarified the concept would be brought to Council before a final design was created. Ms. Woytenko said that was correct. Councilmember Clark asked the status of the Prosecutor's Office move to the Sine building. Mr. Phelps said the remodel at the Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center (GRPSTC) was nearly complete to facilitate the move of the Fire Administration. Work on the Sine building would begin once it was vacant. The Prosecutor's Office was scheduled to be moved during the next budget year. Councilmember Aldama asked if the pickleball court funding was for a new or existing court. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the expiring DIF funds were originally planned for a bike park but there was high demand for a pickleball court. Through park planning, it was determined to add the court. Ms. Rios explained the DIF funds available were not enough for completion of the bike park but were enough to add the pickleball court. The funds were required to be spent within that zone. Councilmember Aldama expressed frustration with the allocation of DIF funds. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there was an amortization scheduled for the Luke Airforce Base (LAFB) project. Craig Johnson, Water Services Director, said the contract was nearly complete with final Council approval in June 2020. It was a 10 -year payback of the design and construction costs. The debt service for the bonds was included. Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager, presented the Pavement Management Program through FY2025. Mayor Weiers asked if the streets maintenance allocation was increased to $10.2 million and if the program became a maintenance program rather than a repair program. Mr. Friedline said that was correct. Staff estimated all streets could be maintained within 2 years. Mayor Weiers supported increasing the allocation to maintain the streets. Vice Mayor Malnar asked how the $44 million fund balance from the light rail project was budgeted. Mr. Friedline said the fund balance would be used to keep a base of $10 million per year for the program. Additional information would be presented at the June workshop. Councilmember Tolmachoff was in support of the proposed maintenance program. She asked how much the transportation sales tax generated annually. Ms. Camacho said the FY20-21 budget was approximately $29 million. Councilmember Clark was in support of the 5 -year maintenance plan. She asked if the plan allowed for major arterial streets to be addressed. City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 5 of 9 Mr. Friedline said the plan addressed arterial treatments but not reconstruction. Mayor Weiers asked that Camelback Road, near Westgate, be addressed at the June workshop. Councilmember Clark asked which section along Glendale Avenue, did the sewer line project pertain to and why the budget was decreased by $4 million. Mr. Johnson explained an internal study resulted in a new option to work below the large storm drain on Glendale Avenue, south along 91 st Avenue, which would reduce the cost of the project. Councilmember Turner asked where the connection was going south on 91st Avenue. Mr. Johnson said the sewer line went south to Bethany Home Road then west to 95th Avenue at the Camelback tie-in. The project tied -into an existing sewer line on Bethany Home Road, which tied into the 95th Avenue then south to the collector at Camelback. Councilmember Clark asked which streets would be under construction. Mr. Johnson said Glendale Avenue to Bethany Home Road along 91 st Avenue. Councilmember Turner asked for more information on the sewer line extension project. Mr. Johnson said carry-over was being used for the project. Councilmember Turner asked if that meant the $400,000 budgeted for the project could be saved for other purposes. Mr. Johnson said that was correct. Councilmember Turner asked if the reroute of the sewer line saved $4 million. Mr. Johnson said that was correct. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the Ballpark Boulevard project had been completed. Don Bessler, Chief Capital Improvement Officer, said the Ballpark Boulevard had two phases and phase one was completed. Phase two was the area south of Ballpark Boulevard at the 99th Avenue intersection. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if residents near Heroes Park could be surveyed regarding the preference for the order of park completion. Councilmember Clark said the demand was for recreation and the lake at Heroes Park would satisfy that demand. She planned to request an expansion of the library to include a meeting room after the lake's completion. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what type of recreation would be done on the lake. Councilmember Clark said the lake would allow fishing and add passive recreation around the lake. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked that $1 million be set aside for capital items in and around Camelback Ranch. City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 6 of 9 Mr. Friedline said in years 2 through 10, the capital increased to $1.6 million, reflecting the need for maintenance and repair of assets. Councilmember Clark asked about the $450,000 allocated in FY24 for the replacement of an underground storage tank. Ms. Woytenko said it was anticipated that the tanks at the Glendale Operations Complex would need replacement at that time. Councilmember Clark said $10 million dollars was allocated for park infrastructure and asked why all the projects were listed separately instead of under the package. Ms. Rios said there had been Council consensus to leave the information as it was shown. She said the total of all the CIP projects was about $55 million. Councilmember Clark asked about the compatibility of the new solid waste software with the software currently in use, if there were hidden costs and what the annual license fee was for the new software. She wanted similar information for all new software implementation throughout the City. Councilmember Clark asked if only $90,000 was allocated for bus stop improvements. Trevor Ebersole, Transportation Director, said there was an additional $150,000 allocated annually for bus stop enhancements. Councilmember Turner requested that Council, through the CIP or the budget, provide funds to make necessary repairs and maintenance to the ramada structure at Sahuaro Ranch Park. Jim Burke, Parks, Recreation, Facilities and Special Events Director, said the department was in the process of contracting a structural engineer to analyze the structure. The study would be done and the findings would be brought back to Council with a cost estimate. Councilmember Turner asked if there were funds to complete required work or if a placeholder in the budget was necessary. Mr. Burke did not have an estimate and was not sure if a placeholder amount would be adequate or if contingency could be used for the project. Ms. Rios said there was an option to pull funds from contingency and depending on the work, it could qualify for a different funding source. Councilmember Turner shared his frustration on the condition of the park. Mr. Burke said there were funds within the Parks current budget to conduct the study. The tabletops could be addressed in the new budget year. Mayor Weiers asked for Parks staff to provide an estimate for repair of the tabletops. Councilmember Aldama said more funds should be spent in preventative maintenance at the park rather than proactive maintenance as it could cost less in the long run. Councilmember Tolmachoff did not understand how a park with its own master plan was in such a condition. She asked how the funding would be addressed for the repairs at Rose Lane. City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 7 of 9 Ms. Rios said due to some temporary staff and program savings and other sources within the Parks budget, there should be enough to cover the cost. Mr. Phelps said the substantial maintenance needs was due to many years of underfunding. Compared to neighboring cities, the amount budgeted by the City for park maintenance was the lowest. He said the goal of the Master Plan was to help Council prioritize the direction of the parks and to put a plan in place. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it was important for Council to know what supplemental requests departments had made each year. She asked when the Parks Master Plan was supposed to be finished.for presentation. Mr. Phelps said the Master Plan would be brought to Council at a June workshop, but it would not be final. Council would provide feedback and consensus before it was finalized. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how March figures compared to the forecast. Ms. Rios said typically each month was approximately $10 million in sales tax revenue. The revenue for March was approximately 10% or $900,000 less than March of the prior year. Staff anticipated the April figures would be lower but the full impact would not be known until June. Mayor Weiers asked if there had been any consideration of selling lesser -used park to fund assets at other parks. Mr. Phelps said it could be included as part of the Master Plan discussion. Vice Mayor Malnar was comfortable with using contingency for emergency repairs related to safety at Sahuaro Ranch Park. Councilmember Hugh asked how much did refinancing bonds save the City. Ms. Rios said overall it saved approximately $75 million. Councilmember Hugh felt with the contingency saved, repairs could be made. Vice Mayor Malnar said it should be a priority to get the street sweeping schedules back to a monthly basis. Ms. Woytenko said the frequency of street sweeping on residential streets was increased from quarterly to every other month. Because the City was unable to buy an additional street sweeper, the monthly frequency could not be implemented. The funding for a street sweeper had been carried over from the previous year's budget. As soon as a sweeper could be purchased, staff would have a better idea whether the frequency could be changed during the next budget cycle. Councilmember Turner asked for an overview of the street sweeping program. Ms. Woytenko said the arterial streets were swept monthly and residential every other month. Councilmember Turner asked if the street sweepers were in use on a daily basis. Ms. Woytenko said that was correct. The sweeping schedule was Monday through Friday. Mayor Weiers said there was Council consensus for the proposed CIP budget. City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 8 of 9 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 12:03 p.m. 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 19th day of May, 2020. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 10th day of June, 2020. li A. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - May 19, 2020 Page 9 of 9