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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 1/6/2023City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 COk �1�7 Glendale A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Friday, January 6, 2023 12:00 P.M. Special Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers 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 12:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar 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 Councilmember Malnar attended the meeting telephonically. WORKSHOP SESSION 1. DOWNTOWN CAMPUS REINVESTMENT PROJECT UPDATE Presented by: Kevin R. Phelps, City Manager Guest Presenter: Holly Street Studios Ms. Bower read the item by title. Diane Jacobs, Holly Street Studios, presented information on the following: . Project timeline, aspirations, scope, and project discovery phase . History of Murphy Park . Recap of project planning to date . Priorities gleaned from community and staff outreach . Findings regarding deficiencies and assets Ms. Jacobs noted that the Velma Teague Library was not included in the project. Ms. Jacobs presented three early design concept options based on design drivers and project goals: The Base Option (Option A) - guided by the request for proposal (RFP) requirements of repairing the garage, the building skin, roof damage, and creating a more functional City Hall. It also included upgrades to Murphy Park, and amphitheater improvements. City Council Chambers remained the same with minor improvements. The Opportunity Option (Option B) - included new mechanical systems and improvements to the City Council building. The Aspirational Option (Option C) - included moving the City Council function to City Hall and an expanded green area of Murphy Park, with the amphitheater at street level. Ms. Jacobs said the building designs presented were schematic in nature. The intent was to determine the use of space. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 6, 2023 Page 2 of 6 Mr. Phelps provided highlights and additional insight into the three options including information on the project cost for each of the options which did not include $6 million of continuity of operations expenses. All project estimates were adjusted for inflation. He said the Opportunity Option met the aspirational goals of Council and was the staff recommendation. Mr. Phelps asked Council to consider a consensus to move forward on one of the options, so that planning could progress. The planning for the infrastructure of Murphy Park had not been addressed as it would partly be determined by the option chosen by Council. Mayor Weiers asked if solar panels were included. He asked about the issue of security in the building concepts. Ms. Jacobs said solar panels were included, and agreed security was an important consideration. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for confirmation that the cost estimates did not include $7. Mr. Phelps said that was correct, and the figure was approximately $6.6 million. Councilmember Tolmachoff indicated Option B would be approximately $22.7 million over the initial project budget discussion of $70 million. She asked for the source of the additional $22.7 million. She was hesitant to provide consensus until knowing how the additional costs would be covered. She did not want the additional funds coming from projects Council had already committed to do. Mr. Phelps said staff had a plan within existing resources to fund the additional cost. The City's overall revenues for the year exceeded budget and expenditures were under projections. The City could pay for the project with the differential in cash without having to borrow funds. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked why the building had to be re -skinned and asked if a new skin could be applied over the existing skin. Ms. Jacobs said the current skin was not structural but was a layer of materials designed to look a certain way. It was now leaking water and air and was in constant need of repair. She recommended installing a new skin that would be under warranty, last longer, and keep the building well -ventilated. Councilmember Tolmachoff was concerned that the plaza entry was too close to the street and presented a safety issue. Mr. Phelps said the Opportunity and Aspiration Options eliminated the direct entry from Glendale Avenue. There would be safety bollards, but the plan was not yet at that level of detail. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for the cost to include solar and move the cooling tower in the Base Option. Vice Mayor Aldama was not ready to provide consensus. He asked how much of the design utilized input from the citizens from the public meeting. Ms. Jacobs said the key highlights from the public meetings were how much Murphy Park was loved and the importance of access to Council Chambers and City Hall. She said everything that was heard was incorporated in the designs. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 6, 2023 Page 3 of 6 Vice Mayor Aldama was uncomfortable being asked to give consensus without going back to the public for input on the three options. Mr. Phelps said staff was striving to balance moving forward with the project while at the same time obtaining input from the public. There was a website for the public where the presentation would be posted by the end of the day and the public could provide input. Vice Mayor Aldama wanted the public's opinion on which option and cost it felt most comfortable with. There was still enough time to obtain public input. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the biggest part of Council's job was to manage the budget and City spending. It was important for Council to keep the original budget for the renovation as there were many other projects to be completed. Councilmember Turner was not ready to provide direction. He asked for clarification regarding the insufficiencies in the building's staircases. Michael Jacobs, Holly Street Studios, replied the issue was the length of the stairs including the landing. Councilmember Turner said the cooling tower could be better disguised, or the wall could be made more functional. He believed the cooling tower was recently redone and asked for additional information. Michelle Woytenko, Field Operations Director, said the cooling tower was rebuilt and relined in 2015 and the life span was estimated at ten years because the project rebuilt the old technology. Councilmember Turner said the plaza concept was not functional due to the traffic and train noise. Solar would be better located at the top level of the parking garage to provide shaded parking. Councilmember Turner said constituents had inquired about a protection plan for Murphy Park during the construction period. There was concern about the park being used as a staging area for construction work. He asked to what degree the park and library would be accessible to the public during construction. Councilmember Turner had previously requested a business plan for the amphitheater but still did not have a clear description of the plan. Council could not invest the level of money in an amphitheater without a business plan. He needed more time to review the material. which the public deserved as well. Councilmember Malnar was in favor of re -skinning the building. He agreed with Councilmember Tolmachoff's comments regarding safety. The current cooling towers were ugly and needed to be removed. The input of the community was important; however, Council was at a crossroads to make some decisions and present them to the community. Councilmember Malnar asked about the increased amount of green space with the Base and Opportunity Options and the anticipated cooling or electrical cost savings resulting from the upgrades. Ms. Jacobs did not have the information but would follow up. There were significant savings which would be brought later in detail. The highest priority from the public was stewardship of the park and she noted the importance of obtaining additional community input along with the City Council Meeting Minutes - January 6, 2023 Page 4 of 6 need to honor the design schedule and budget. Councilmember Malnar said the goal of the project was to make a much better, more productive, and economically viable downtown. There was a need for access to the library during the construction. He agreed with additional community input but did not want to delay the project further. Councilmember Hugh saw the amphitheater as bringing a variety of entertainment to the area. He supported Option B. Mayor Weiers asked if there could be a presentation for the public to provide input. Mr. Phelps said there was great turnout at the public meeting and many citizens had provided contact information. He would work with the public relations team to contact citizens directly and ask for input on the information presented today. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there was consensus for a hybrid of Options A and B, which addressed deferred maintenance, solar, the roof, and moving the cooling tower. Mayor Weiers asked if there was consensus for Mr. Phelps to obtain additional public input and come back to the Council at a future workshop and for Ms. Jacobs to come back to Council with some of the changes Council discussed. Councilmember Tolmachoff requested information on how the budget difference in Option B would be funded. Vice Mayor Aldama did not see an expansion of green space in Murphy Park and asked for clarification. Ms. Jacobs said the exact amount of turf and trees had not been calculated. It would occur as part of the next layer of design and was part of the charge to minimize the paving in Murphy Park. Mr. Phelps asked, for process purposes, if Council would have wanted the three concepts shown to the public first and then brought to Council. He was not trying to exclude public input, but rather did not want Council to think he was showing concepts to the public before being presented to Council. Mayor Weiers said the meeting was productive but understood the need to keep moving forward. Councilmember Turner said it was appropriate for the options to be presented to Council before being presented to the public. Mr. Phelps said staff would move forward with outreach to the public. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for a copy of the survey to send to her district residents. Mr. Phelps asked Councilmembers to send the link to the project portal to constituents for the survey and for information. City Council Meeting Minutes - January 6, 2023 Page 5 of 6 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 2:11 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 6th day of January, 2023. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 17th day of January, 2023. Julie K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - January 6, 2023 Page 6 of 6