Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 4/25/2023City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 C&F Glendale A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 25, 2023 12:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama 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 Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Absent: Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Councilmember Turner arrived at 12:32 p.m. WORKSHOP SESSION 1. FY2023-24 BUDGET WORKSHOP Presented by: Levi D. Gibson, Director, Budget and Finance Amy Lindsay, Budget Administrator, Budget and Finance Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Gibson presented the agenda for the item, which included the following topics: . Follow up items from April 6th Workshop . Changes to budget . FY23-24 Operating Budget . FY23-24 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) . FY23-24 Transfers Budget . FY23-24 Total Budget Councilmember Turner asked if the projection included the $2 million swept from the Arts Fund or if the projection was what happened if nothing was done. Mr. Gibson said it was a projection if nothing was done. The recommendation was that since the fund had been growing and had not been drawn down, that no changes be made. It was up to Council if it wanted to change things. Councilmember Turner said the money in the Arts Fund was not being spent. The Council consensus to bring back a plan on how to replenish the $2 million had been ignored. Mr. Phelps said that was the plan and if 4 members of Council, through the budgeting process, authorized the movement of money from the General Fund to the Arts Fund, staff would move it. The recommendation was that until there was a project where it looked like the Arts Fund was running short, the money would be left in the General Fund. It was more of a policy decision based on consensus of Council. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 2 of 13 Councilmember Turner said Council was aware that it had the authority to move funds. It was out of respect for the process that he requested a plan from staff to replenish the $2 million to the Arts Fund. Moving money through motions, was not the responsible way to budget. There had been Council consensus for the plan, and he was disappointed and felt disrespected. Mr. Phelps said the City Charter required the City Manager's Office to propose an operating and capital budget to Council every year. It was the City Manager's recommendation to the elected body. Staff had been receiving feedback and consensus from Council to proceed or make changes. He was not being disrespectful. The plan was straightforward. In order to move money to the Arts Fund, he needed a consensus, and he would do so. Councilmember Turner said that there was a Council consensus to replenish the fund and it was ignored. Councilmember Aldama asked if the written plan Councilmember Turner had requested was in the presentation. Mr. Phelps said the plan was that if there was a consensus on moving money to the fund, staff would put it into the budget. Councilmember Aldama said that there was a consensus for the City Manager to return with a written plan. There was no plan that indicated why the money was swept, what impact it had or possible impacts if the money was removed from the General Fund and other options. Mr. Phelps was not with the City when the original money was swept. What he heard at the meeting, was not a Council consensus to move the money but to provide a path forward to get it done. All it would take to move forward would be Council consensus. Councilmember Aldama said if a plan was requested, Mr. Phelps should have come back with a plan. He saw no plan. Councilmember Tolmachoff referred to slide 4 regarding 15 sole source contracts. She would like a list of the vendors for the contracts. The organizational chart was missing, and she would like a copy. Councilmember Tolmachoff said Council did not need a plan to know money could be transferred, but she would like to know what was forgone in the arts program due to not being properly funded. The money should be replenished in the Arts Fund now that it was possible to do so. She gave consensus for staff to come back with some ideas on what could be done with another $2 million in the Arts Fund. Mr. Phelps said Council was advised that master planning for the arts program was in process. Staff could accelerate art expenditures if that was Council's decision. Jessi Pederson, Economic Development Assistant Director, said the plan would take approximately a year to determine where the $2 million fund would be better spent. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it would be beneficial to understand the budget they were working with when creating a master plan. Ms. Pederson said the budget component was one piece but also understanding options available and what types of art was appropriate. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 3 of 13 Councilmember Malnar asked if there was a requirement to keep a minimum amount in the Arts Fund. Ms. Rios said that there was not a requirement to keep a specific balance. Councilmember Malnar asked why there was so much money that had not been spent in the Arts Fund. Ms. Pederson said it was not a matter of money not being spent. The Arts Fund was two -fold. There was an operating expense component as well as the CIP expenditure component. CIP was generally initiated by Council or departments and once initiated, the money could be utilized. Councilmember Malnar said there was a fund balance that had not been spent. The money should be spent before additional money was added back in. Vice Mayor Clark agreed with Councilmember Malnar. When the money was originally swept from the Arts Fund, there had been no direction from Council to replace the funds. She would not give consensus to move the money until there was a master plan. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it was important to understand the money available when creating the plan. She asked how a master plan could be created, without knowing what funds were available. Councilmember Clark said the fund had a $2 million balance to work with. Plans were often created that ended up costing more than planned. The master plan could move forward. Mr. Phelps said that the master plan would not be specific to projects or dollar amounts. It would engage with the community about the types of art and prioritize where the funding would go. Councilmember Aldama said the fund was swept due to debt not just the economy. He said the Council should incrementally replenish the fund and asked for consensus. Councilmember Turner concurred with Councilmember Aldama. He proposed that Council adopt a policy to replenish the Arts Fund in 4 equal payments of $500,000 over the next 3 years. Councilmember Malnar did not see a need to replenish the fund because there were funds that were not being used. He wanted to see the master plan first and hear what the community wanted. Councilmember Hugh agreed with Councilmember Malnar. Create the plan first and then let Council decide the amount of funding. Mayor Weiers said the plan should be developed first and then if there was not enough money, a request could be made. He did not support moving the money. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus for the $500,000 payment plan proposed by Councilmember Turner. Councilmember Aldama proposed a payment plan of $250,000 each year over 8 years. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 4 of 13 Councilmember Aldama asked about the difference in cost for design services for Heroes Park at $2 million and $660,000 for the Velma Teague library. Ms. Rios said the estimates were provided by the Engineering Department. Engineering anticipated 10% of the cost of renovations for Velma Teague. During a previous meeting on the CIP, Council had dedicated $1.7 million to the expansion at Heroes Library. Vice Mayor Clark had requested it instead be allocated to the recreation center plus an additional $300,000. Councilmember Aldama asked if staff knew what the plan was for renovation to be able to determine the cost and that 10% was $660,000. Mr. Phelps said staff had looked at the typical cost for renovation based on the square footage of the library and determined an estimated project cost. Councilmember Clark asked if there was capacity to fully fund the Heroes Park sports fields to fill the gap of $5.8 million. Ms. Rios said, based on projections, staff believed it could be funded out of General Fund cash without reducing the $50 million reserve requirement. Councilmember Clark asked for consensus to fully fund Heroes Park sports fields. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the City had the capacity to build the Heroes Park recreation center or if a bond election would be required. Ms. Rios the City did not have sufficient bond capacity to build the recreation center but there might be other funding sources. Councilmember Tolmachoff was not supportive of spending down cash. She asked if the priority was the recreation center or the sports fields. Ms. Rios said the $5.8 million for sports fields would be funded from the $7.5 million in ARPA funds, $4 million in DIFF and the balance of $17.5 million out of cash. It did not impact the design of the recreation center. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the City had sufficient funds to move forward with the CIP as it stood right now. Ms. Rios said the City did not have sufficient bond authority but did have sufficient cash. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the original plan was to bond. Ms. Rios said it had been sitting in bond funds for the last 6-10 years of CIP and had continuously been moved out because there was not capacity for bond funding. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how far out funds would be available for the project. Ms. Rios said that the first part was a programming study to determine amenities at the recreation center. Mr. Phelps said staff could begin the work to get a cost estimate and then at the next budget cycle come back with a plan. There were several phases to a project. Each contract of the phasing would come back to Council for ratification. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 5 of 13 Councilmember Clark requested a consensus to fully fund Heroes Park sports fields. It had been 25 years since the City had promised to fund a park and it was still incomplete. She requested a consensus to fully fund Heroes Park sports fields. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if Councilmember Clark was proposing taking the money out of the fund balance. Councilmember Clark said there were additional funds besides the $50 million fund balance. Councilmember Tolmachoff said that the Yucca District had not been ignored for 25 years. The park had been built. Councilmember Clark had to fight every step of the way for Heroes Park. She said there were no dedicated sports fields in the Yucca District. Councilmember Aldama asked if the disparity report he commissioned years ago demonstrated that there was a lack of services in regard to what Councilmember Clark was asking for. Mr. Burke said it showed a shortage in the southern and western part of the City. The report principally said that indoor recreation facilities were lacking in the areas. Councilmember Aldama proposed that the request be tabled so that Mr. Burke could bring back the report to Council. He did not want to spend the fund balance down but would support the sports fields if it was part of the disparity report. Vice Mayor Clark said having a recreation and aquatics center in the Yucca District would open up a plethora of programming options for residents in the Cactus and Ocotillo Districts. Ms. Rios said the request would not deplete the fund balance. The policy required a fund balance of 25%. The $5.8 million could be funded out of savings but a consensus would be needed in order to set the budget. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what the reserve requirement number should be as $50 million was no longer the minimum reserve of 25%. She wanted to know for sure before Council committed to using almost $6 million in cash. Ms. Rios said it had changed. It was 25% of ongoing revenues. She did not know the specific number, but it was still approximately $50 million. Councilmember Tolmachoff could support a placeholder for the sports fields. Mayor Weiers said that for 25 years there had been a promise of a park in Yucca District. At what point did the City do what it promised and complete the park. He said there was a consensus for Councilmember Clark's request. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked for an explanation of the performance ranges and wage range increases. Mr. Phelps said Council had requested that a comp and class study be done every 24 months to keep wages competitive. The 5% wage movement applied to the wage range of each position, and everyone would benefit from the wage increase. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted employees to be aware that Council valued them, and that City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 6 of 13 the City was competitive. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what the best practice amount was for the fund balance. Ms. Rios said the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommended 18% of ongoing revenue. The Council's policy was 25%. It was a Council policy and Council could change it. Staff could take a closer look at the numbers but would have to wait until the end of the fiscal year. It was currently only an estimated forecast. Councilmember Tolmachoff said Council had been tied to the $50 million but the policy was 25%. Mr. Phelps said staff could look at best practices and come back to a workshop. The City was in a very good position to continue to fund Council priorities and still retain conservative fiscal policies. Councilmember Turner had the same question and there was an adopted Council policy. Ms. Rios said the policy was 25% but $50 million had been used for convenience. The number could be updated. Councilmember Turner said that it was convenient but not accurate, and it should reflect the correct number. Mr. Phelps said that GFOA recommended 2 months of expenditures for the reserve fund balance. Staff could come back to a workshop with potential policies for Council to consider. Vice Mayor Clark said it required further discussion. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it was an item for a future workshop. Mr. Phelps said it was. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the Maintenance of Effort transfers was money being transferred back to the various enterprise funds. Ms. Lindsey said that was correct. 2. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST - PRESUMPTIVE CANCER LEGISLATION Presented by: Jim Brown, Director Human Resources and Risk Management Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Brown said the intent of the item was to receive Council direction for staff to bring the item forward at a future workshop. The item had two components. . Discuss a potential policy for cancer claims that had gone through the appeal process resulting in a denied claim. . Provide a presentation to highlight pre- and post-2021 cancer legislation and how public safety cancer claims were processed under current legislation and how the City received reimbursement from the state. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to gain clarification and learn about the policy. She would City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 7 of 13 like a consensus for a workshop about the topic. Councilmember Clark asked if the City reviewed each case currently. Mr. Brown said the claim was assessed by a 3rd party administrator to determine if it would move forward or be denied and was handled on a case -by -case basis. Councilmember Clark said it was appropriate. It had safeguards as the City considered the claim. She did not believe in a blanket policy approving claims for cancer. She was not interested in moving forward. Councilmember Aldama supported moving forward with a workshop to provide education on the legislation. Councilmember Tolmachoff clarified she was asking for consensus to discuss the legislation at a workshop. Councilmember Malnar agreed with Councilmember Clark. The law was clear and he did not feel the City needed a separate policy to state law. Councilmember Tolmachoff was asking for Council to be educated on the cancer legislation. The problem with the claims had been when they were denied and handled administratively. Councilmember Turner said Council, residents and firefighters could all benefit from the discussion and having the information on record. If needed, a policy could be developed. He supported moving forward on the item of special interest. Councilmember Hugh asked if employees had been taken care of. Mr. Brown said that there had been cases denied that had gone through the process and been overturned. The new legislation eased the burden of proof. The denied claims had been reversed. Councilmember Malnar asked if any claims had been denied under the new legislation. Mr. Brown said there had been none. Councilmember Malnar did not see a need to go further with the issue due to the new legislation that was straightforward in what it covered. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the City did not have a policy on what to do under the circumstances. If there was no consensus, then Council could move on to the next item. Councilmember Aldama said that without pressure from the media, social media, and the public, he did not believe the City would have covered the claim. He supported moving forward. Councilmember Hugh did not know how many times there had been a denial, but if there had been, it had been taken care of. Mr. Phelps had administratively overruled 2 denials. The first case was prior to the new legislation. Council funded, through risk management, an insurance policy that forced a carrier to pay excess amounts. The City had an obligation to go through the process. If the City said automatically that all cases were approved, the carrier would no longer insure the City's excess liability. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 8 of 13 Mr. Phelps said the most recent case fell between the two pieces of legislation. The legislature put the new policy in place and addressed the funding mechanism but did not make it retroactive. There was an 18-month window that was in effect until September, where cases were still under the old legislation. Once the window closed, it would be a simple process. Council was passionate about protecting firefighters and that was why he had administratively overrode the two cases. He did not believe there would be any more cases that would fall in the window between now and September. Councilmember Tolmachoff said that there was a potential issue after September due to cancer recurrence if the original diagnosis was before the new legislation. Mayor Weiers did not believe it was necessary to have another discussion about a policy. If anyone had questions, they could go directly to Mr. Brown or Mr. Phelps for answers. He believed everyone understood the law. Mayor Weiers said there was not a consensus to move forward with the item. 3. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST - SOURCE OF INCOME DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE Presented by: Jean Moreno, Director, Community Services Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Moreno asked for consensus to move forward and collaborate with the City Attorney's Office to: . evaluate model ordinances . assess status of Arizona Attorney General's position on the ordinances *interview counterparts in the communities. The estimated time spent to complete the project would be about 30 hours and about 8-12 weeks. Councilmember Clark did not support this item. She said it was the landlord's right. Councilmember Malnar asked if other laws or ordinances already included the items in the presentation. Ms. Moreno said there were several federal and state laws that addressed housing discrimination but there was no law regarding source of income discrimination. The ordinance did not impact what a landlord could charge for rent or tenancy requirements. It was strictly for source of income discrimination. Councilmember Malnar asked if there had been any complaints due to source of income. Ms. Moreno said staff did hear from voucher holders that struggled to find a place to rent. Vouchers were distributed for various reasons. Staff tried to communicate with landlords to answer any questions about the program and explain the benefits of participating in the program. Councilmember Malnar asked what the reason was when a landlord resisted accepting the voucher. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 9 of 13 Ms. Moreno said that for example, landlords experienced housing authorities that might not be easy to work with in one state and make a blanket policy across all states. Councilmember Malnar said the ordinance seemed to take away the ability of the property owner to make decisions about who they worked with. He did not support the item. Mayor Weiers asked how the voucher worked. Ms. Moreno said the landlord went through a process with the City. The unit was inspected to make sure it met reasonable rent standards and fair market rent. The landlord entered a housing assistance payment request where payment was paid directly to the landlord. The program required an initial inspection as well as an annual reinspection. Payment was rarely withheld unless the landlord entered abatement. Mayor Weiers asked about fair market rent. Ms. Moreno said HUD set the rates every October. The City policy was to pay 110% of the rates due to current market conditions in the region. Mayor Weiers asked if the hesitancy could be due to lack of education on program. Ms. Moreno said staff did educate and answer questions. The Housing Authority paid on time. It provided a housing client with a list of properties currently accepting vouchers and listed housing developments that were required to maintain periods of affordability. Councilmember Aldama asked if the ordinance was a tool to prevent discrimination practices. Ms. Moreno said that it would not mandate what a property owner could charge. The ordinance would say that if a tenant passed tenancy requirements and it was rent reasonable, the landlord could not deny a tenant a rental due to using a voucher. Councilmember Aldama gave his consensus. Councilmember Turner said the City of Phoenix just studied and approved a similar ordinance unanimously. He asked that Council study it and learn more about it. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it was an obstacle for people to find a place to live in the City. Ms. Moreno had heard from some clients but did not have a percentage. She did not know if clients with other sources of income were being denied. It would be part of what would need to be explored with the ordinance. Mayor Weiers confirmed consensus to move forward. 4. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST - PRESENTATION MATERIALS POLICY Presented by: Brent Stoddard, Deputy City Manager City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 10 of 13 Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Stoddard said the item was to discuss a policy on the timeframe to provide materials to Council at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. If the timeline was not met, the item could be postponed. If provided materials were changed, an explanation of the change would be provided. Emergency items added to the agenda would require an explanation of when materials would be provided. Councilmember Tolmachoff said Council was expected to be prepared for meetings. It was not too much to ask to have items at least 24-hours in advance of a meeting. Mayor Weiers confirmed consensus to move forward with the item. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Phelps said the renovation of Desert Diamond Arena had begun. The design documents would take approximately 6-8 months with a total renovation timeline of 18 months. Staff did not anticipate closing the arena or that the renovation would affect any upcoming events. The arena had closed out the books for the first 9 months of the year and the amount the City would receive was $2.6 million. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT No report COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Aldama requested a plan be developed to return the Glendale Glitter's event. Councilmember Tolmachoff would like staff to bring back discussion of unlicensed sober living homes. Councilmember Malnar joined Councilmember Tolmachoff's item of special interest. Mayor Weiers supported the item. Councilmember Hugh also supported the item. Councilmember Turner requested a business plan to include expenses and revenues for the amphitheater, that included examples of the types of performers that management expected to perform there. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Vice Mayor Joyce Clark, seconded by Councilmember Ray Malnar to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 11 of 13 Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council met in executive session at 3:20 p.m. for: . Discussion/consultation with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive an update, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney and City Manager regarding Glendale's position in connection with city -owned property near 57th Avenue and Palmaire Avenue pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7) . Discussion/consultation with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive an update, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney and City Manager regarding Glendale's position in connection with contracts, agreements and/or development agreements pertaining to the Glendale Media Center that are the subject of negotiations pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4) . Discussion and or consultation, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction regarding overnight parking and discussion/consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(1)(3) . Discussion and or consultation, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction regarding the Glendale Municipal Court and discussion/consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(1)(3) Maor Weiers left the executive session meeting at 4:26 p.m. A motion was made by Councilmember Ray Malnar, seconded by Councilmember Ian Hugh to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Other: Mayor Jerry Weiers (ABSENT) Passed Vice Mayor Clark adjourned the executive session at 5:20 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Vice Mayor Clark adjourned the meeting at 5:20 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 12 of 13 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 25th day of April, 2023. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 2nd day of May, 2023. r Julie7-'—bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - April 25, 2023 Page 13 of 13