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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 6/28/2022City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85309 Glendale A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 28, 2022 12:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Welers Vice Mayor Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Absent: Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Jim Gruber, Deputy City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager WORKSHOP SESSION AN -241 - NORTHERN PARKWAY COMMERCE CENTER ANNEXATION APPLICATION FOR 133 ACRES LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF NORTHERN PARKWAY AND DYSART ROAD Presented by: Tabitha Perry, Planning Manager Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Perry said the Northern Parkway Commerce Center Annexation was a 133 -acre site located at the southwest corner of Northern Parkway and Dysart Road. The current County zoning was RU -43, which was similar to RR -45 in the City. The applicant was proposing to rezone the property to Planned Area Development (PAD) for an industrial or commerce center. Ms. Perry said Luke Air Force Base had no objections to the proposal. Fiscal impacts included one-time fees estimated at $9.6 million and a possible net benefit to the City of $530,000 per year excluding one-time revenues. Staff was seeking consensus to move forward with the annexation process. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what public safety in the area would consist of. Ms. Perry said an automatic aid agreement would be used for fire service and the Glendale Police Department would provide law enforcement services. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what the funds were for. Mr. Phelps explained the costs were estimates based on the allocation model demonstrating the cost of providing services. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the City's interim plan was to allow other jurisdictions to respond. City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 2 of 9 Mr. Phelps said there was the automatic aid agreement, an agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department, in addition to the City's support services in the Loop 303 area. Councilmember Tolmachoff said she had not seen associated costs with automatic aid. Mr. Phelps said economic charts within annexations showed costs, which included an allocated amount for public safety. Mayor Weiers confirmed consensus. 2. PENSION FUNDING POLICY Presented by: Lisette Camacho, Director, Budget and Finance Levi Gibson, Assistant Director, Budget and Finance Megan Ellgen, Controller, Budget and Finance Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Camacho said the presentation provided an update to the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) funding policy. Mr. Gibson provided an overview of the presentation which included the following: . Background *Pension Funding Policy *Council Feedback and Next Steps Ms. Ellgen said the policy would be posted on the City's website once approved and provided background for the policy. Mr. Gibson provided details on the Pension Funding Policy and funding levels. Mr. Gibson said there was a resolution on the voting agenda for Council to adopt the funding policy. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if Council typically heard of policy changes and voted on it the same day. Mr. Gibson said that was correct. 3. DOWNTOWN GLENDALE PROPERTY DISPOSITION DISCUSSION Presented by: Jessi Pederson, Assistant Director, Economic Development Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Pederson provided an overview of the presentation which included the following: . Background *Summary of Disposition of City -Owned Real Property Policy . Recommendation . Overview of Identified City -Owned Property in Downtown Glendale . Discussion and Consensus on Council Goals and Visions for Downtown Glendale . Next Steps City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 3 of 9 Ms. Pederson said it was staff's recommendation to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the following City -owned parcels: the former Thunderbird Lounge and adjoined suites, former dry cleaners, parking lots directly south, and two vacant lots at Grand Avenue and 57th Drive. She said the RFP would prioritize the development drivers as determined by Council and the City would follow RFP procedures as set forth in City policy. She said the parcels were identified based on open market inquiries and interest. She noted Council's goals and vision for downtown could be used to prioritize RFPs. She provided various options and asked Council for feedback on specific property uses. Vice Mayor Aldama asked if any of the parcels needed to be rezoned. Ms. Pederson said there might be height restrictions or rezoning for residential but in general, the parcels were in line with the downtown overlay. She added the entertainment district allowed for Council to approve a liquor license as well. Councilmember Malnar asked if adding retail and gift stores to the downtown priority list was necessary or would it happen naturally. Ms. Pederson said the recommended list included drivers that would attract more visitors to the retail opportunities in the downtown area. Mr. Phelps asked if Council had a preference for priority uses or price, when scoring RFPs. He said retail did not have to be excluded. He provided examples of a priority list, which could be used for scoring RFP responses. He asked Council to determine the most aspirational uses. Mayor Weiers said there were other downtown properties not owned by the City and the City would like to do all it could to encourage more retail. He asked how both could be incorporated at the same time. Mr. Phelps explained the priorities would be utilized when writing the RFP to be in line with Council's vision. Councilmember Clark suggested a targeted approach to prioritize a museum space. The use of travelling exhibits would bring people downtown on a regular basis. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked when Council would have the opportunity to set the priorities on scoring. Mr. Phelps explained the purpose of the presentation was to get Council feedback on the priorities and then return with the RFP proposals for discussion before issuing the RFP. Ms. Pederson said it would be helpful to understand the priorities Council would like to include in the RFP. Vice Mayor Aldama agreed that destination should be a priority and noted the cafe lighting added to being a destination. He agreed with working on a broader area focusing on creating a strategic RFP to make the downtown area a hotspot for the City. Councilmember Malnar favored making downtown a destination location. He would like statistics as to what other cities used to create downtown areas to make a decision on priorities. Mayor Weiers encouraged the Councilmembers to make their suggestions known, so businesses could conduct their analysis and bid for the RFP. City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 4 of 9 Councilmember Clark agreed with Ms. Pederson that the market would dictate the responses. She said the Council did not have to be experts when conveying the vision for downtown. Mr. Phelps said the City was going to invest in the strategy of creating destination and live entertainment four nights a week, all year long. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if Council would see all of the RFPs or only those that scored the highest. Mr. Phelps said staff would provide recommendations for the top -scored RFP, however, that did not preclude Council from looking at the other RFPs. Mr. Phelps said Council could include a preference for redevelopment versus new development because of the impact on the surrounding neighbors. He cautioned against adding additional properties as the proposed area was a strategic area to begin. Mayor Weiers said Deadwood, South Dakota, required that if a building was torn down, the new building had to maintain the same character of the surrounding buildings. If there was new development, the same requirement could be used. Councilmember Clark was open to either redevelopment or new development, with the stipulation that new development retain the architectural character of existing downtown. Mayor Weiers suggested having a category of specialty food shops rather than using bakery in the provided list. Mr. Phelps said there were several other categories that could also be used. Vice Mayor Aldama asked staff to conduct research and find data which supported uses that should be a priority, and bring the information back to Council. Mayor Weiers said another consideration was to decide on a daytime or nighttime downtown, he would like both. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the RFP would be local or if staff would seek out specific uses that might generate foot traffic and excitement downtown. Ms. Pederson said staff would make the RFP as broad as possible. Knowing the Council's priorities would assist in staff's outreach. She would prepare a draft RFP and requested that Council provide additional priorities as soon as possible. Mayor Weiers confirmed consensus for staff to prepare a list with the information provided by Council. 4. FUEL CRISIS IMPACT ON SOLID WASTE Presented by: Michelle Woytenko, Director, Field Operations City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 5 of 9 Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Woytenko provided a presentation overview on the 5 -year rate adjustment, which included the following: . Background *Current Rate Plan . Trend in Fuel Costs . Trend in Insurance Costs . Interfund Loan Prepayment . Commercial Overview . Recommendations The 5 -year rate adjustment was adopted by Council in February 2022 and was planned through 2026 for residential and commercial. She displayed the impact of the rate adjustments. Mr. Carr provided information on the significant and dramatic increases in fuel costs and insurance and indirect costs. He said other costs had also increased due to inflation such as parts and maintenance, salaries and benefits. He provided graphics on fuel prices and provided the anticipated budget shortfalls for FY22, FY23, and FY24. Staff was recommending the implementation of a temporary "fuel surcharge" to be reviewed annually during the budget process. The temporary adjustment to residential would be $1.54 per household, per month. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to ensure residential customers were not absorbing more costs than commercial customers. Mr. Carr provided information on the increased insurance costs and the anticipated shortfalls. Staff's recommendation was to alter the timeline of the approved rate increases. The rate adjustments for 2023 and 2024 would be combined and implemented in September 2022. The 2025 rate increase would move to 2024 and the 2026 increase would move to 2025. He said it would mean no rate increase from September 2022 to January 2024. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the proposed rate increase was approximately 10%, excluding the fuel surcharge. Mr. Carr said that was correct. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the wrong fund balance information was assimilated into the previous rate discussion. Mr. Phelps said staff would work to tighten the process. Staff could not foresee the fuel increase and had no control on the stop -gap insurance. Even if the balance had been correct, the fuel and insurance increases would have forced an adjustment. The proposed solution would bring the fund balance in alignment with Council policy. Councilmember Tolmachoff said rate discussions should be timed for Council to be fully informed. Increased fuel charges were a factor, but the main issue was not having the correct fund balance information. She hoped future rate adjustment discussions would be better prepared to have all of the correct information to avoid the current situation. Councilmember Malnar said during the hyperinflation period in the 1970s, large companies had to keep increasing rates to stay afloat. It was not known that fuel would increase so high at the time. He appreciated the intent of the increases being temporary and not being increased over the amounts approved in the 5 -Year Plan. The plan that was presented addressed the budget City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 6 of 9 issue the City was facing. Mayor Weiers agreed it was better to address the issue sooner rather than later and possibly have a major problem. He did not favor raising rates but supported moving forward with the increase. Vice Mayor Aldama thanked staff for bringing the issue forward and for trying to work on ways to mitigate the situation. Councilmember Clark said Council did not want to raise rates, but it was the situation. The Solid Waste Department always had the data to back up any needs for rate increases. Police, Fire and other departments might also request a rate increase due to fuel costs and insurance. She did not like the rate increase but considered it temporary. Councilmember Malnar said the use of the term 'rate increase' was not correct as there was no increase in residential rates as far as what Council agreed to in November. Rather, it was an escalation of the increases, which provided a temporary flush of funds to keep the account solvent. He said the rate was in line with the 5 -year plan. Councilmember Hugh said the situation was a reflection of what was happening throughout the country. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the residential fuel surcharge was 6.5% of the fee and the model showed 3% for commercial customers. She said the June meeting of the Citizens Utility Advisory Commission (CUAC) was vacated. She asked why the matter was not brought before the CUAC to evaluate and make a recommendation to Council. It appeared as if the bulk of the increase was put on residential customers. She asked for all information to be included when making assessments of future rates. Mr. Phelps said the books had traditionally been closed in January and he would not be able to accelerate the final number within the current framework. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the rate discussion could have been held in January, when the final numbers were ready. She asked why the CUAC's most recent meeting was vacated. Ms. Woytenko said it was a planned vacation of the June CUAC meeting. Staff focused on finalizing the numbers for the presentation. She agreed the CUAC should have been informed and would go back to CUAC in August to reconcile the issue. Councilmember Malnar asked for confirmation the residents were not subsidizing any commercial expense. Mr. Carr said that was correct. Councilmember Tolmachoff reiterated the increase to the residents was 6% versus 3% for commercial. She noted the graph provided showed fuel prices spiking as early as February and the CUAC was not brought into the conversation. She valued the CUAC's input and Council would not have the advantage of it. Ms. Woytenko said the residential rates were to be increased gradually over time and commercial were increased up front, so commercial already had a robust increase. She said the $1.6 million would be on the voting agenda at tonight's meeting. Mayor Weiers confirmed consensus. City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 7 of 9 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Phelps provided an update on the Section 7 High School Tournament that was held June 16th through 19th, 2022 at State Farm Stadium. Over the four days, 45,000 fans attended the event and fully occupied the neighboring hotels. Mr. Phelps said Glendale ranked in the top 100 places to live and work in Arizona in the 2022 edition of the Ranking Arizona Business Opinion Poll. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT No report COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Tolmachoff said employees' personal vehicles were plugged into the charging stations in the City garage. She requested a discussion on a policy to address the issue. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Vice Mayor Jamie Aldama, seconded by Councilmember Joyce Clark to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Other: Councilmember Bart Turner (ABSENT) Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council met in executive session at 2:34 p.m. for discussion/consultation with the City Manager and City Attorney to receive legal advice, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Manager and City Attorney regarding Glendale's retirement benefits pursuant to (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3). Mayor Weiers adjourned the executive session at 3:08 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 3:08 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 8 of 9 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 28th day of June, 2022. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 12th day of July, 2022. Joe . Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - June 28, 2022 Page 9 of 9