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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 11/28/2023City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 C&I7 Glendale A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Tuesday, November 28, 2023 12:00 P.M. Workshop Meeting Civic Center 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 Vice Mayor Clark called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Absent: Mayor Jerry Weiers Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Councilmember Aldama arrived at 12:11 p.m. Councilmember Tolmachoff arrived at 12:32 p.m. WORKSHOP SESSION 1. PROPOSED 2024 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Presented by: Ryan Lee, Intergovernmental Programs Director Hayley Barry, Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Lee provided information on the proposed 2024 State Legislative Agenda and a legislative preview. Mr. Lee recommended prioritizing the State Legislative Agenda to a few key issues to allow the City to have a stronger, more consistent message on the items of greatest priority. Ms. Barry gave an overview on the structure of the Legislature. Councilmember Turner asked about the 20 days to canvass an election. He asked if it was possible to add one more day to the canvass to alleviate having to hold a special meeting. Vice Mayor Clark confirmed consensus to add Councilmember Turner's request to increase the time to ratify canvassing of elections. 2. CONSIDERATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY AND JUNETEENTH AS OFFICIAL CITY HOLIDAYS Presented by: Jim Brown, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management Vicky Moss, Assistant Director of Human Resources City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 2 of 10 Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Brown provided information on the impact and scope of work of adding Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples' Day as official City holidays. Ms. Moss said that all the comparable sized cities observed nine holidays. Several cities observed other holidays. Mr. Brown said the Inclusion Network worked throughout the year to celebrate different events. Juneteenth had been celebrated with employees for the past two years. Councilmember Aldama said the awareness programs were well attended by employees. He said the City should try to increase attendance. The information was important and set the stage for the optics for outsiders. He asked if the $890,000 was on top of the floating holiday already given to each employee. Mr. Brown said there would be a cost, but not that amount. If the City used the floating holiday for one of the two suggested holidays, employees would lose the floating holiday. Councilmember Aldama said Public Safety worked through all holidays. The City would not shut down on a holiday. He did not believe the holiday would cost the City $890,000. Councilmember Turner said comparing the peer cities, most cities observed 15 holidays, including Glendale. He liked having the floating holiday and did not think the City should add a new holiday. There was no compelling reason for an additional holiday. Councilmember Malnar agreed with Councilmember Turner's comments. The concept of making the two holidays recognition days was a good idea. It was not fiscally prudent to add the additional holidays. Councilmember Hugh agreed and did not want a change to the holiday schedule. Vice Mayor Clark did not support increasing the number of paid holidays. She liked the idea of offering further recognition for the unobserved holidays. Councilmember Tolmachoff was concerned about state -shared revenue and did not think it was the appropriate time for the City to offer more holidays. The money should go to salary increases and not additional holidays. Councilmember Aldama asked how many holidays the City observed and if the holidays were built into the salary costs of the full-time employees. Mr. Brown said the City observed 12 holidays and the costs were built in. Councilmember Aldama said a salary loss could not happen because the holiday was part of employee compensation. Councilmember Turner requested an accurate account of the total number of calendar day equivalents for holidays that the City and the peer cities provided because there were discrepancies between the pages of the PowerPoint presentation and the explanations provided. Mr. Brown said page 6 included the floating holidays. Without the floating holidays, the City had 10.5 holidays. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 3 of 10 Councilmember Turner clarified that Glendale was offering 12 holidays including the floating holidays, along with 8 other cities. Vice Mayor Clark confirmed consensus that the City would not increase the number of paid holidays. Vice Mayor Clark confirmed consensus that the City would instead offer additional educational experience on the holidays. 3. CARIOCA AT PEORIA AND SARIVAL, AN-244, ANNEXATION LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF PEORIA AVENUE AND SARIVAL AVENUE Presented by: Tabitha Perry, Deputy Director, Development Services Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Perry presented information about the annexation on the southeast corner of Peoria Avenue and Sarival Avenue. Staff requested input and direction from Council on proceeding with the proposed annexation. Councilmember Turner asked how the number of possible jobs was predicted on the small area of approximately 7 acres. Ms. Perry said the assumption was based on other businesses in the area. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it would be entirely retail businesses. Ms. Perry said it was anticipated to be retail and commercial. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there would be any type of warehouse. Ms. Perry said there would not. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there would be improved traffic signals in the area. If the answer was yes, would that be the responsibility of the developer. Ms. Perry said staff was not that far in the process yet, but any improvements would be the responsibility of the developer. Vice Mayor Clark confirmed consensus to move forward. 4. COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST - REVIEW CURRENT NUMBER OF CERTIFIED PARAMEDICS Presented by: Ryan Freeburg, Fire Chief Ms. Bower read the item by title. Chief Freeburg provided information on future vacancies and said staff was trying to optimize recruitment and retention. Vice Mayor Clark asked if the employees' salaries would be paid out of subsequent budgets. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 4 of 10 Chief Freeburg said that was correct. Councilmember Aldama asked how it was determined that of the 43 employees leaving, that 24 were paramedics. Chief Freeburg said the information was contained in a report from the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. Councilmember Malnar asked if a paramedic requirement could be added to a percentage of the City's hiring process. He asked if there could be too many paramedics. Chief Freeburg said it could be added and there could not be too many paramedics. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how the City's stipend compared to other cities' stipends for paramedics. Chief Freeburg said the City was in the mid -range. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it was a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) item. Chief Freeburg said it was in the MOU. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the request was for a mid -year budget adjustment or a supplemental. Chief Freeburg was requesting a supplemental. Councilmember Aldama asked if the requirement of being a paramedic was added to the hiring process, would there be difficulty in recruiting experienced paramedics. Chief Freeburg said it would not be difficult. Councilmember Aldama asked why the funding was not being requested today so that the process could begin in February, instead of waiting for the budget process. Chief Freeburg did not like to make mid -year requests but preferred requesting a supplemental at the appropriate time. Councilmember Aldama said the City should be concerned about not having enough paramedics and the use of overtime. He requested the cost to fill the staffing gap in February. Mr. Phelps said the presentation was to provide information and receive direction from Council. Staff would look at accelerating the process and provide a response to Council soon. Councilmember Aldama asked if staff would bring back the information he had requested. Mr. Phelps would see what could be done and return with that information. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked the maximum number of staff that could be managed at one time in paramedic school. Chief Freeburg said it would create overtime. Councilmember Tolmachoff said that over a period of time, the overtime pay would decrease if City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 5 of 10 all staff attended the paramedic training. She asked if overtime was part of the City's attrition issue and if other cities were staffed so that overtime was not required. Chief Freeburg said the issue had been discussed with staff and staff was using vacation to avoid burn out and working as much overtime. Vice Mayor Clark said it was a complicated issue that was best managed by Chief Freeburg and senior management. Councilmember Turner agreed that the supplemental request should not wait. He would wait for management's feedback. He would give direction to maximize the number of students in the next class to solve the problem. Vice Mayor Clark said the item was for information only, no consensus was requested and she did not want Council to micromanage staff. Councilmember Aldama apologized if his inquiries bothered Vice Mayor Clark, but he did have the right to ask questions. He did not want Chief Freeburg to think Council was micromanaging him, but he had the right, as a Councilmember, to inquire and it was the appropriate place to ask questions. He had asked the City Manager for a report. Approval of the budget was the right of Council and not the City Manager. It was the City Manager's responsibility to collect the data for the budget. Mr. Phelps concurred that more paramedics were needed. Management would come back with an option to alleviate the overtime of all the firefighters and paramedics. 5. FIRE STATION 153 PROJECT UPDATE Presented by: Rick St. John, Deputy City Manager Ryan Freeburg, Fire Chief Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. St. John provided an informational update about the demolishment and replacement of Fire Station 153 with funds approved in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). 6. PROPERTY EVIDENCE FACILITY PROJECT UPDATE Presented by: Rick St. John, Deputy City Manager Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. St. John provided an update regarding constructing a new police property evidence facility with funding available in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Vice Mayor Clark asked if this project and the fire project were a result of the passage of the voter -approved bonds. Mr. St. John said both projects were approved under the existing bonds and the new bonds did not impact the ability to complete the projects. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 6 of 10 7. DOWNTOWN CAMPUS REINVESTMENT PROJECT UPDATE Presented by: Eddie Garcia, City Architect Diane and Michael Jacobs, Holly Street Studio Jesse Lee, Okland Construction Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Garcia provided an update on the Downtown Campus Reinvestment Project. Ms. Jacobs reviewed the project goals, the floor plan organization, the reorganization of the campus space and the architectural expression of the building. Mr. Lee provided a construction video. Councilmember Turner asked about the structure of the third and fourth floors. He said one slide depicted the City Manager on the third floor and another slide depicted the City Manager's Office on the fourth floor. Ms. Jacobs said that the City Manager's Office would be on the third floor. Councilmember Turner asked about the seating in the amphitheater and if it allowed patrons to bring chairs. Ms. Jacobs said that the design accommodated chairs brought by patrons. It would be a park -like setting. Councilmember Turner did not support the floor plan for City Council. He believed the Charter would not support it. It was not a good idea to have the City Manager's Office so far from the Council. He suggested the City Clerk's office and the Mayor's suite be flipped. Councilmember Turner did not approve of the size of the Mayor's suite compared to the offices for the rest of Council. He did not approve of the council assistants being so far from the Councilmembers and believed there would be too much foot traffic around the council assistants. Councilmember Turner asked what the plan was to update the audio/visual in the Council Chambers. Ms. Jacobs said it was a priority of the redevelopment and a consultant would provide information at a future workshop. Councilmember Turner did not agree with the way the ADA and wheelchair access was incorporated onto the dais. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about seating at the amphitheater. Ms. Jacobs said the plan was to eliminate as much hardscape as possible to minimize heat absorption. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked what the press room was and why it was on the garden level. Ms. Jacob said that the garden level had available space and the press room was a large City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 7 of 10 meeting room that could hold different meetings, including board and commission meetings. Mr. Phelps said staff anticipated using the press room for board and commission meetings. Councilmember Tolmachoff said most board and commission meetings were currently held in small conference rooms and citizens did not typically attend the meetings. She did not understand the purpose of moving all board and commission meetings to one central location near the Council Offices. Councilmember Tolmachoff had not been asked to give any feedback on the location and design of the Council Offices. She asked who provided the feedback. She had spoken to other Councilmembers and their input had not been sought as to what the floor plan would look like. She was not pleased with the design that had been presented. Mr. Phelps said the purpose of the workshop was to help put a general plan together. The plans were not final. Councilmember Tolmachoff did not like the silo effect and wanted the Mayor and Council closer to each other in a more open area. She did not support the gym and fitness center. It was indulgent and she did not think it would be well received by taxpayers. Councilmember Aldama asked what was available to change in the design if Council asked for changes. Mr. Phelps said the scope included changing interior spaces, such as moving walls, cubicles, and other design concepts. Councilmember Aldama said he and other Councilmembers felt the design was not an inclusive design. He did not see the culture, the personalities or access to other people in the design presented. The design concept should have been much more inclusive. Councilmember Malnar said he felt included in the design of the building and did not think Council should decide what the design should look like. The design was very ergonomic and useful for the employees. He approved of the functionality of the building and minor improvements could be made to the Council Offices. Councilmember Tolmachoff had not been asked to provide any input into the design. She did not want the Council and Mayor's offices to be in silos. The current layout did not encourage the Mayor and Council or the Mayor's staff and the Council staff to collaborate. Vice Mayor Clark said the job being done was difficult, but she thought the staff was doing an excellent job. Councilmember Turner agreed that staff was working hard, but Council had not been encouraged to provide input. The Council Offices were dysfunctional and did not comply with the City Charter. He would not support the design if changes were not made to the project. Councilmember Hugh said the design was nicer than the current City Hall. He believed the design concept was fine. He was not sure what the complaints were about and wanted to move forward with the project. Councilmember Turner said Vice Mayor Clark seemed upset by his questions. He asked if the Council had reached a consensus on whether to use terracotta or brick. City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 8 of 10 Mr. Phelps said it was staffs recommendation to use brick. Councilmember Turner understood it was staffs recommendation, but it was Council's decision, and he wished to have Council consensus. Vice Mayor Clark said the item was an update and staff was not requesting consensus. Councilmember Turner wanted Council to reach consensus on terracotta or brick. He preferred brick. Vice Mayor Clark confirmed a consensus for brick. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Phelps said the national rankings of cities for foreign businesses in the Financial Times, ranked Glendale 42nd out of the 60 top cities. The City received a perfect score in the aftercare category. Mr. Phelps said Glendale Glitters had shifted to the Civic Center area and attendance for the first 2 days was 23,500 visitors. It was an increase of almost 300% from the prior years. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT No report COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Aldama requested information about refining the City's Sign Ordinance. He also requested information about holiday lighting on the east side of Murphy Park. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Bart Turner, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to hold an 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 EXECUTIVE SESSION Council met in executive session at 3:27 p.m. to meet with the City Attorney for legal advice, discussion and consultation regarding the City's position in pending or contemplated litigation, including settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3)(4) and for discussion/consultation with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 9 of 10 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 located at the intersection at Glendale Avenue and 58th Drive pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7). A motion was made by Councilmember Ray Malnar, seconded by Councilmember Ian Hugh to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Other: Mayor Jerry Weiers (ABSENT) Councilmember Jamie Aldama (ABSENT) Passed Vice Mayor Clark adjourned the executive session at 4:33 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Vice Mayor Clark adjourned the meeting at 4:33 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 28th day of November, 2023. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 7th day of December, 2023. J . Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2023 Page 10 of 10