Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 4/2/2021City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 C&7 Glendale A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 2, 2021 9:00 A.M. Downtown Strategy Retreat Meeting Civic Center City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar 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 Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager WORKSHOP SESSION 1. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST - CITY COUNCIL STRATEGY RETREAT Presented by: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Jessi Pederson, Deputy Economic Development Director Ms. Bower read the item by title. Councilmember Aldama said the downtown was one of the City's valued business districts. The purpose of the retreat was to go beyond district boundaries. There had been many initiatives and stakeholder engagement over the past decades and the efforts had not been in vain. The Council must play a leadership role in driving the downtown strategy. Consistent and prioritized direction was needed to be successful. He thanked Council for its commitment to revitalizing downtown. Mr. Phelps provided an overview on national trends. Ms. Pederson presented the status of downtown Glendale today and its strengths and challenges. She reviewed the current downtown strategy: • Large events during limited time each year • Total of 12 Event Nights in FY20 • Events structured around winter holiday season when there is a high number of competing events in the Valley • Significant City staffing resources expended on limited number of large events produced by the city • Costs not recaptured for transportation, public safety, parks, etc. • Limited partnerships with private event producers • Downtown Manager Services Contract Mr. Phelps presented "The Pivot," an alternative strategy: • Prioritize building frequent, repeat visits to downtown City Council Meeting Minutes - April 2, 2021 Page 2 of 6 • Only high dollar, low volume, retailers can survive seeing a customer once a year • Leverage a redeveloped amphitheater and adjacent parking garages to become a highly used performance venue • Must be designed to accommodate a variety of live entertainment • Reduce rental items such as trusses, lighting, sound, etc. • Have protection from the heat in summer months • Accommodate a minimum of 1,200 attendees • Use live entertainment to attract a consistent, diverse customer base • Consumer • Focus on live music, theatrical, dance, movies, etc. • Jazz, Blues, Country, Old-time Rock & Roll, Classical, Pop, Contemporary • Christmas productions / plays / recitals / ballets /talent shows • Comedy Shows • Cultural music / dance • Create a family friendly and safe downtown utilizing permanent accent lighting • Lighting footprint to include Catlin Court •Trees, buildings, etc. • Work with downtown property owners to build a business plan that justifies owner's investment and redevelopment • Redevelopment is most likely to occur only when property owners are willing to modify their buildings to adapt to a new retail environment • Help recruit new businesses with focus on food and beverage, experiential retail and cultural activities • Work with downtown merchants to create experiential opportunities • Vegan restaurant has live music • Work with eateries to also provide live entertainment • Contract with Chamber to organize downtown merchants with a clear focus on marketing live events taking place in downtown • Digital marketing impacts almost 50% of consumer purchase decisions • Social media campaigns • Printed collateral Mr. Phelps provided a breakdown of the current special events budget: IlGlendale Glitters Spectacular Weekend — ;$124,914 `Downtown in December _$56,805 Holiday Lights_ _ $188,013��� The Chocolate Experience - X1$50,000 Y Glitter & Glow x`$160,001 a _Live! _@ Murphy Park _ $90,000 City _Wide Special Events — 4FTE _ _ _ $423,083 _ Total Special Event Division Budget* �g $1,038,816 Mr. Phelps presented an alternative strategy budget for special events for The Pivot: Live Programs $312,000 Downtown Event Grant Program_ _ _ — J$120,000 The Chocolate Experience with Outside Promoter X1$20,000 Holida $100,000 City Council Meeting Minutes - April 2, 2021 Page 3 of 6 jAudio/Visual Lighting package City Wide Special Events _ $100,000 City Wide Special _Event Administration — 2 FTE -- $215,000 City Wide Special Event Manager — 1 FTE —� $88,000 Total Special Event Division Budget* $55 1,0,000 Mr. Phelps presented the transition budget for The Pivot: Downtown Events $200,000 Downtown Event Grant Program �$120,000 The Chocolate Experience with Outside Promoter $20,00_0 Permanent Lighting I g�� $400,000 City Wide Special Event Administration $215,000 City Wide Special Events $100,000 w `Total Special Event Division Budget* 1,055,000J *None of the totals included costs incurred by Transportation, Public Safety, Sanitation, Parks or EMS. Mayor Weiers said people had to have a reason to come downtown. He suggested converting parking spaces into outside dining areas and providing incentives for buying into the program. Mr. Phelps said increasing foot traffic would lead to an increase in capacity. Adding live entertainment would bring a following to downtown. If the City chose and promoted the right kinds of acts, it would bring foot traffic. Mayor Weiers loved the concept and was excited to get it moving. Councilmember Clark supported the proposal. Since 1992, the City had conducted multiple downtown visioning sessions that produced no measurable change. If the City could not make changes now, she was pessimistic about the long-term future of downtown. She recognized that pivoting the philosophy was not easy. It would take time and patience, but it was doable. The City had to recognize the inability of business owners to adopt a unified vision and it was time to put up or shut up despite the negative element. There was an element that demanded that the City put up the money. It was time for business owners to put some skin in the game by creating a downtown merchants association. Councilmember Clark said the strategy should be contingent upon renovation of the amphitheater. She made the following suggestions: move the Velma Teague Library to the former bead museum or other suitable location and make it a high tech resource; sell or lease the library building as a unique restaurant concept; sell the Civic Center to a developer that would commit to developing it as an entertainment destination or destination location; and encourage the sale or redevelopment of the sugar beet factory. Councilmember Clark said the downtown was uniquely positioned to become an art and culture hub. She asked if the City could become an investment bank and provide long term loans to merchants for redevelopment of properties. Moving to year-round activities was the last best opportunity to turn the downtown around. The focus should be on environment and entertainment. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 2, 2021 Page 4 of 6 Vice Mayor Hugh agreed with the proposed strategy. Part of the vision when City Hall was built was the elimination of the library and utilizing the amphitheater. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to look at stadium seating versus natural seating for the amphitheater. There was a lot of maintenance required on stadium seating. She also wanted to incentivize property owners. There was Community Development Block Grant funding available. It was also essential to have the right people in special events to move it forward. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the City had identified a funding source for the amphitheater of approximately $40 million. There was also $1.2 million in the CIP for the arts. It would require sophisticated, targeted, analytical marketing and funding would be needed for that because people began their search online. Councilmember Turner said keeping an aspect of Glendale Glitters was important. The public chose the historic theme for the downtown at a previous public visioning and making it pedestrian -friendly. Council had to make sure it maintained the core. The alleys were upgraded to increase pedestrian security and the City needed to maintain the investments already made. He said the treescape was important and the current trees did not add to the streetscape. The City should promote free parking, protect the historic building stock and assist owners with development. Councilmember Turner said the downtown did have long term property owners and a number of buildings were under contract for use. The Civic Center needed hotel space. It was an important asset that just needed help to make it more successful. The library in Murphy Park had value and should not be turned into a restaurant. He would like to see an art museum in downtown with a new show each month. Promotion and imagination were key to success. The City needed to value the history and realize its value. Councilmember Malnar said Council was at a very critical point in the downtown discussions. It needed to promote a change that could be done quickly and made an impact in making downtown a destination. He supported the recommendation to start the process. After that, Council could discuss what to do with the library, etc. It was not an overnight change. He fully supported the initial steps as recommended by staff. Councilmember Aldama said it was a new beginning and was time for bold moves in downtown Glendale. The suggested strategy was a big change. He would hate to see the library go but would love to see a brand new, technology -driven facility. He was onboard with the new strategy. The City did need to get financial institutions in the conversation. The downtown needed everyone working together. Mr. Phelps said the City was ready to embark on a new approach and acknowledge a new environment. There was a progression. The first goal was to establish downtown as a destination and create foot traffic. Staff would put more detail to the transition budget and accelerate the amphitheater redesign. It could be a stand-alone project or part of a larger project such as the customer service center. Staff would develop the strategy to build around the amphitheater. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there was an issue with deed restrictions for the library and if an art gallery would violate any restrictions. Mr. Bailey would bring back information at an executive session. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the location of the library would be key and she was open to City Council Meeting Minutes - April 2, 2021 Page 5 of 6 re -purposing the building. Councilmember Clark was pleased that Council was starting to have discussion about the library and the civic center and what would happen after the amphitheater was completed. She was also proud that she had helped establish Glendale Glitters. Councilmember Turner thanked the downtown merchants. Downtown had a lot going for it not the least of which was a Council that was committed to the success of Glendale. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 11:47 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 2nd day of April, 2021. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 7th day of April, 2021. JugvK. Bower,`MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - April 2, 2021 Page 6 of 6