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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 4/12/2024City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 A R I Z O N A Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 16, 2024 9:00 A.M. Budget Workshop Meeting Civic Center City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Ocotillo District Vacant CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Jamsheed Mehta, Assistant City Manager WORKSHOP SESSION 1. FY2024-25 BUDGET WORKSHOP Presented by: Levi D. Gibson, Director, Budget and Finance Amy Lindsay, Assistant Director, Budget and Finance Jonathan Hill, Budget Administrator, Budget and Finance Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Hill and Ms. Lindsay presented the following information: . Follow Up Items from Previous Budget Workshops . Changes to Budget . FY24-25 Operating Budget . FY24-25 Capital Improvement Plan . FY24-25 General Fund Transfers Budget . FY24-25 Total Budget Councilmember Turner asked if $1.8 million had been put in -the facilities operating budget. Ms. Lindsay said the project would have a carryover from FY24 that would appear in FY25. She was unsure of the amount but would report back with that information. The ongoing funding was $1.8 million per year and the funding that was removed had been put into the operating budget. There were additional projects within the general fund Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) that could cover the programs for facilities. Councilmember Turner asked if the carryover and the operating budget would come close to $1.8 million. Ms. Lindsay said it would. Councilmember Turner asked if in future budgets the money would remain in the facilities maintenance main budget. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2024 Page 2 of 8 Ms. Rios said the building maintenance reserve was not being used how it was intended. It had been changed so that all the programs were listed and what funds were being used in the CIP. If there was an emergency, general fund contingency funds could be used. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the Sierra Verde Park improvements included the pickleball court she requested. John Kennedy, Parks and Recreation Director, said staff was studying what a pickleball court would entail and how it would fit in the park, as well as irrigation and lighting. Staff should have a recommendation soon. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the splash pad was removed and replaced with lighting and irrigation. The splash pad was an amenity and should be replaced with an amenity. She asked if that was the direction it was going. Mr. Kennedy said that was correct. Staff was looking at the feasibility of a pickleball court. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if salaries included a cost -of -living adjustment (COLA) and a merit increase. She asked how much the monetary award for personnel was and where it was allocated. Ms. Lindsay said that was correct. The success factor awards were budgeted in the Human Resources budget. Councilmember Turner asked if the City was still on track to add 40-50 employees. Ms. Lindsay said that was correct. The total number was 48 employees. Councilmember Clark asked how many people had used the cooling respite centers and where the centers were located. Ms. Moreno said approximately 12,000 visits occurred last year over the 3 centers. Similar numbers were expected this year. If it was reduced to 2 centers, staff anticipated fewer visitors. She said the two confirmed locations were at Mission Valley Church, 59th Avenue and Rose Lane and St. John's Church at 51 st Avenue, South of Glendale Avenue. Councilmember Clark asked what maintenance of effort transfers were. Ms. Rios said it was general fund loan transfers back to the enterprise funds. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the $2.2 million was being transferred to repay the $25 million transferred in 2011/2012 to the National Hockey League. She asked how much was repaid last year and if it was an ongoing payment. Ms. Lindsay confirmed the $2.2 million transfer. There was a scheduled annual payment that fluctuated. The transfer this year included $850,000 to Water, $1.2 million Landfill and $206,000 to the Solid Waste Fund. Ms. Rios said the amount fluctuated because it included interest. Councilmember Tolmachoff requested information regarding the amount being applied and the balance. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2024 Page 3 of 8 Councilmember Turner asked for an explanation on the debt service for the COP and the NPC excise tax. Mr. Gibson said the debt service was for certificates of participation (COP) issued 3 years ago to pay down the unfunded liability for the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System for both Police and Fire. It was the debt service on that issuance. The NPC excise tax bonds were bonds issued for City facilities at Camelback Ranch and the Arena. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the $70 million for the parking garage was part of the $93 million for general fund capital projects. Ms. Lindsay said it was part of that project. It was still in the CIP as a placeholder. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the parking garage was listed as an investment. Mr. Phelps said that if the garage was built as originally planned, there would be a revenue stream associated with the parking garage. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it did not meet the criteria of an investment of public money. Council provided consensus on a parking garage and an operating agreement at the November 21, 2023, workshop. She asked if the project was remaining in the CIP with no offset, since there was no operating agreement in place. Mr. Phelps said the project was a placeholder and no money would be spent on a construction contract until staff could answer all the questions for Council. Staff would have potential recommendations to discuss with Council shortly. Ms. Rios said there was a revenue offset in the budget. It would depend on how Council decided to move forward. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked where the revenue offset was. Mr. Phelps said the offset was the anticipation of an operating agreement being entered into by the City and the developer to manage the parking garage. The developer would be paying a substantial amount of money back to the City, but it was not known yet if that type of agreement would be pursued. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the agreement was not worked out, could the $70 million be used for any other citywide uses. Mr. Phelps said if the $70 million garage was not built, the City would not receive the cash revenue of $58 million. The net difference was approximately $13 million that Council could reprioritize. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the garage would not be built without the $58 million offset. Mr. Phelps said that was correct. The City did not have the resources to fund the garage. Councilmember Malnar asked where the Sister City program budget was reflected. Ms. Lindsay said $10,000 was added and was being absorbed in the non -departmental budget. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked about the funding for the western area fire station and the City Council Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2024 Page 4 of 8 police crime lab. Councilmember Clark asked about the fire station at 75th Avenue and Orangewood and if the consultant had looked at the Westgate area for a fire station. Rick St. John, Deputy City Manager, said the line item in the budget was a placeholder. The consultant had initial data for the fire station at 75th Avenue and Orangewood. The Westgate/airport area was the priority. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it would not take the entire fiscal year for the study to be completed. She asked why there was no money for the fire station in FY25. The bonds were approved last November, and the crime lab was bumped back due to other projects. She asked if there was still a consensus to put money for the study of the location. Mr. Phelps said the consultant looked at several components other than a location and the capital cost. It had to be built into the long-range forecast budget. The consultant would also provide ways to balance the workload. Staff anticipated providing information to Council after the summer break. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked why there was not a placeholder for the crime lab. Councilmember Malnar said his recollection of the crime lab matched Councilmember Tolmachoff's recollection. He wanted the funding to be put in the budget. Councilmember Clark said she agreed that Council expected a placeholder for the crime lab in the budget. Ms. Rios said budget staff could work with Mr. St. John on the amount. Councilmember Turner asked where the funding was for special events. It belonged in Economic development. Ms. Pederson said staff had committed to being more thoughtful about spending. She was confident they could move forward and manage events with the existing budget. If an event came forward that needed some sort of funding, there was an option to use non departmental money. Councilmember Turner did not consider $3,000 or $5,000 to be a large ask. It was disappointing when the City determined there was no money to assist. Ms. Pederson said the goal was to assist events and bring them to the City. Councilmember Turner said the food truck event which brought in more attendance than events the City had been doing alone, had used the City -provided bathrooms and fencing. That was the type of help he was referring to. Funding should not be the reason why the City could not assist with events. He proposed a budget of $20,000 for the City to assist with events. Councilmember Tolmachoff referred to the memo from Ms. Pederson about the high cost per person for the events put on by the City. She said it would be well worth an investment to bring in outside promoters to the City. Councilmember Clark said Ms. Pederson's memo was an eye opener. She did not want the Live event series to move forward and would like to see alternative events or projects that would bring people downtown. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2024 Page 5 of 8 Mr. Phelps said the cost of putting on the Live events was different than it had been when the events were at the amphitheater. The value proposition long term was not sustainable, but more money was being spent during the City Hall renovation to continue getting people downtown. Once City Hall was completed, the cost would go down. He said it might be beneficial to look at a policy to make sure that if the City was contributing money to an event, the public benefited from it. Councilmember Turner agreed with Mr. Phelps and did not think the Live events needed to be terminated. It needed more fine tuning. There was potential, and it was possible to get people downtown. The events needed to continue but there needed to be money in the budget for Economic Development. Councilmember Clark disagreed with Councilmember Turner and was not in favor of adding $20,000. The City was committed to come up with programming to drive people downtown during construction but needed to look at other options. Councilmember Tolmachoff agreed. The return on investment for Live @ the Lot was terrible. She asked for a consensus to leave the $226,000 as a placeholder so that Economic Development could come back with other ideas at a workshop. Councilmember Turner said his opinion was that the problem was promotion, not the location. Councilmember Malnar asked if staff had promoters contact the City for an event that the City had to turn away. Ms. Pederson said the promoter saw that the City had fencing, bathrooms, etc. and asked why the City could not provide those things for their events. At the stage when the application had been submitted, they had already put together what was needed for the event. Councilmember Malnar favored the City participating as an event sponsor so the event could be free. Mr. Phelps recommended that after the summer break, there be a workshop to discuss how to continue with events while City Hall renovation was ongoing and events once City Hall was completed. Mayor Weiers agreed that further conversation was needed about how the events helped downtown. Ms. Rios confirmed there was consensus to move some funding for the crime lab in the budget. She confirmed that the special events conversation would be on hold until the workshop occurred. In the meantime, if an opportunity came up and there was not enough money, staff would bring it to Council for discussion. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked where the western area fire station was being left. Mr. St. John said there was funding in the FY26-27 for the airport fire station. Design funding could be moved to FY25 for the western area. Mayor Weiers confirmed consensus for moving the funding. Councilmember Clark asked if the majority of the general fund funding was for Public Safety. City Council Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2024 Page 6 of 8 Ms. Lindsay said that was correct. Councilmember Malnar asked for a study on what improvements were needed at the Paseo Raquet Club and a hold on a future budget for improvements like a pickleball court. Mr. Kennedy said an internal land study was being conducted to see what could physically be changed. It might be a few more weeks before it was completed. There was a future CIP project for Paseo Raquet Club but he did not have the year. It was a feasibility study and did not include costs. Ms. Rios said the project Mr. Kennedy referenced had $1.5 million identified in FY28. She could work with Engineering to determine what the options were and bring it back to Council for direction. Once that was determined, the cost could be estimated. The City was almost out of bond authority and would have to find a funding source. She asked for consensus. There was Council consensus. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the fund balance policy decreased the fund balance to $25 million. Councilmember Turner requested a graph that would show the changes over the past 10 years. 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: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council met in executive session at 10:44 a.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 pending or contemplated litigation with, or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation related to property at 6529 W. Glendale Avenue pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03 (A)(1)(4). A motion was made by Councilmember Joyce Clark, seconded by Councilmember Bart Turner to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Joyce Clark City Council Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2024 Page 7 of 8 Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the executive session at 11:35 a.m. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 11:35 a.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 16th day of April, 2024. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 22nd day of April, 2024. ie K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2024 Page 8 of 8