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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Bond Committee - Meeting Date: 8/12/2020Oft Glendale A R I Z O N A MINUTES CITY OF GLENDALE CITIZEN BOND ELECTION COMMITTEE CIVIC CENTER, SAPPHIRE ROOM 5750 WEST GLENN DRIVE GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 AUGUST 12, 2020 4:30 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 4:31 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Chair Froke announced that quorum was reached. Introductions were made. Present: Jon Froke, Chair Lisa Baker, Vice Chair John Guers, Committee Member Gary Hirsch, Committee Member Absent: Michael Boule, Committee Member Michael Socaciu, Committee Member Ryan Wesselink, Committee Member Also Present: Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Lisette Camacho, Budget and Finance Director Julie Patterson, Budget and Finance Managment Assistant Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager Michelle Woytenko, Field Operations Director Jim Burke, Parks and Recreation Director Purab Adabala, Transportation Planning Administrator Jim Gruber, Deputy City Attorney Don Bessler, Engineering Director Diane Williams, Public Facilities, Recreation, Special Events Program Manager Trevor Ebersole, Transportation Director Paul King, Recreation Administrator Javier Gurrola, Transportation Engineer Attendees: 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS No citizens present. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Presented by Jon Froke, Citizen Bond Committee Chair a. Citizen Bond Election Committee Minutes of June 16, 2020. A motion was made by Committee Member Gary Hirsch, second by Committee Member John Geurs, to approve the June 16, 2020 Citizen Bond Election Committee minutes as written. AYE: Chair Jon Froke Vice Chair Lisa Baker Committee Member John Geurs Committee Member Gary Hirsch 5. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION Presented by: Jon Froke, Citizen Bond Committee Chair None. 6. DISCUSSION ON ELECTION PROCESS Presented by: Jim Gruber, Deputy City Attorney Ms. Camacho announced that there was no formal presentation today; however, the floor would be opened for any questions that the Committee Members may have regarding the election process. Mr. Gruber recalled that he gave a brief presentation on December 19, 2019 to the Committee and reiterated the following point: • The Committee falls under the effect of Arizona Law, which prohibits cities from using their resources to influence elections; however, each of the Committee Members still retain their first amendment rights to speak freely. As individuals, the Committee Members are allowed to advocate regarding the election, but it is the Attorneys' Office recommendation that if a Committee Member chooses to do so, the Committee Member should explain that he or she is speaking in their role as an individual and not on behalf of the Committee or on behalf of the City. Committee Member Hirsch asked if this would include comments made during the Committee meeting or casual conversations with others. Mr. Gruber recommended in casual conversation to remind others that you are speaking from you own personal views and not on behalf of the City. PUBLIC OUTREACH SCHEDULE Presented by: Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Presented by: Lisette Camacho, Budget and Finance Director Ms. Camacho called attention to the Public Outreach Schedule provided to the Committee Members and stated there are fifteen meetings scheduled during the months of August, September, and October at various times and dates. Ms. Camacho asked the Committee Members to review the schedule and advise if there are any conflicts or issues. Ms. Rios explained that the Committee Members are not required to attend any of the meetings as staff would be present; however, she would like to have Committee Members present if they are available. Mr. Froke opened the floor to questions or comments on the draft schedule. No comments were made. 8. BOND ELECTION INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS Presented by: Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Presented by: Lisette Camacho, Budget and Finance Director Ms. Camacho gave a presentation on the process and content of the Public Outreach Meetings, which included the following highlights: • Information on the four bond questions on the ballot for: Landfill, Streets, Parks and Recreation, and Flood Control. • The meetings hosted by the City will be approximately 1.5 hours. There will be tables set up for the various departments who will have their own specific materials for the meetings. Posters from the four departments that will be used at the meetings are here today for the Committee Members to view. • There will be an infographic posted online, distributed at the meetings, and included as a mail -stuffier in the utility bills. • Staff has begun developing bond election videos and three will be shown to the Committee today. Staff is still working on two additional videos which will be sent to the Committee for review and feedback. Ms. Rios stated that the materials are still a work -in -progress and feedback from the Committee is appreciated. Ms. Camacho played the informational videos on Flood Control, Landfill, and Parks and Recreation. Committee Member Geurs would like to see an explanation on how the Landfill will pay back the City for the bonds. Committee Member Geurs stated that the City did not maintain the parks over the years and that Heroes Park will be done, but it will not be first project to be completed. Ms. Rios explained that staff cannot give the appearance of trying to influence the vote through the videos and the City Attorneys' Office is reviewing the videos currently to ensure compliance. Ms. Rios added that the videos are intended to be snippets of the departments and staff will be present at the meetings to provide detailed information and answer specific project questions. Committee Member Hirsch stated that the videos were the right length based on average attention span. Ms. Rios announced that the videos will be on the bond website, on social media, and played at the Public Outreach meetings. Chair Froke asked for an explanation of the two projects on the Flood Control poster. Ms. Rios stated that the two projects on the board are Glenn Drive in the downtown area regarding alley flooding and the Bethany Home storm drain. Ms. Camacho displayed the website, currently in draft form, and gave a tour of the information, links, and pages of the website. Committee Member Hirsch commented that the website looks easy to navigate. Committee Member Geurs asked if there would be anything on the website that would explain to residents that the old bonds will paid off and replaced by new bonds and that the secondary property taxes would stay about the same. Ms. Rios replied that the City could not guarantee that property taxes would not change because that would not be prudent to guarantee. Ms. Rios stated that she and Ms. Camacho will present to the Committee today a "dry run" of the material that will be presented as an introduction at the Public Outreach meetings. Ms. Rios indicated that some meetings will be recorded and a link to the video of the meeting will be posted on the website. Committee Member Geurs commented that the term "guarantee" might not be used; however, asked if staff would explain the process of the old bonds, new bonds, and expectation that taxes would not increase. Ms. Rios replied in the positive. Ms. Camacho announced the next agenda item is the introduction presentation to be used at the Public Outreach meeting. The presentation is still in draft form and will be reviewed by the City Attorneys' Office to ensure there is no appearance of advocating for the bond election. Ms. Camacho and Ms. Rios gave the "dry run" presentation, which included information on the following topics: • What are bonds? • Why do we need a bond election now? • Who pays for the bonds and what is the source of revenue to pay them? • How does the City plan to pay for the bonds? • What will the money be used for? • What will happen if some or all of the Bond Questions don't pass? • Why should I vote? • 2020 Bond Election Voter Authorization Requests • 2020 Bond Election Disclosures • Full G.O. Bond Program Ms. Rios asked if the information in the presentation answered the questions brought up by Committee Member Geurs. Committee Member Geurs replied that the presentation did answer a lot of his questions. Ms. Rios commented that the presentation may be revised a bit because the bond financial advisor will also review the slides. Committee Member Geurs suggested including in the presentation that the City is using a conservative bond rate. Ms. Rios agreed and explained that the market can change, and the City will have to adjust to any changes. This will be conveyed to the voters. Vice Chair Baker asked if there would be printed handouts of the presentation at the Public Outreach meetings. Ms. Rios replied that this could be done. STAFF REPORT Presented by: Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Presented by: Lisette Camacho, Budget and Finance Director Ms. Camacho announced the following: • The first community meeting will be held on August 27th at Heroes Library at 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. • The next community meeting will be held on August 31st at the Civic Center from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This meeting will be videotaped and will be posted on the bond website. • The September 15th meeting will be held at the Foothills Recreation and Aquatic Center (FRAC) from 10:00 a.m. to noon. This meeting will be on Facebook Live. This is the only meeting currently scheduled for Facebook Live; however, this may change based on comments from residents. Ms. Rios did not have any additions to the staff report. This report allows the City staff to update the Committee. The Committee is prohibited from discussing or acting on any of the items presented by the staff since they are not itemized on the Bond Committee agenda. 10. COMMITTEE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Presented by: Jon Froke, Citizen Bond Committee Chair Committee Member Geurs asked if the Committee Members needed to let staff know if they will be attending the Public Outreach meetings. Ms. Camacho indicated staff can send invitations to the meetings. Ms. Rios stated that the potential of quorum will be noticed via the Clerk's Office for all the public meetings. 11. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Citizen Bond Election Committee will be held on September 1, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., in the Civic Center Sapphire room, located at 5750 West Glenn Drive, Glendale, Arizona, 85301. 12. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Committee Member John Geurs, second by Vice Chair Lisa Baker, to adjourn the meeting at 5:39 p.m. AYE: Chair Jon Froke Vice Chair Lisa Baker Committee Member John Geurs Committee Member Gary Hirsch The Bond Committee meeting minutes of August 12,2020 were submitted and approved this November 2, 2021. c 6" i e to ta macho Budget and Finance Director