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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 12/5/2017City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 PI Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 5, 2017 1:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aidama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 1:31 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager; Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager; Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager; Michael Bailey, City Attorney; Julie K. Bower, City Clerk WORKSHOP SESSION 1. FIRE STATION 152 Presented By: Michelle Woytenko, Director, Field Operations Presented By: Wayne Smith, Deputy Chief, Fire Department Presented By: Vicki Rios, Director, Finance Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Woytenko said staff was seeking guidance and consensus on proposed renovations for Fire Station 152, located at 6850 West Bethany Home Road. Deputy Chief Smith said the station was one of the oldest and busiest fire stations, managing roughly 500 calls a month. The station was in the Ocotillo district, but provided services to various districts. Deputy Chief Smith said the proposed remodel addressed the following: ADA and building code compliance; sleeping quarters; sewer; kitchen; and restrooms. The total. project estimate was $1,438,000 which included $125,000 for design, $1,168,000 for construction and $170,000 for other items. Ms. Rios explained that the proposal used general obligation (GO) bond capacity, which would have no impact on the secondary property tax levy and allowed the use of the 1999 voter authorization for public safety. Ms. Rios said the proposal for the sale of the bonds would be presented at the December 12, 2017 Council voting meeting. Upon approval, bonds would be sold in January/February 2018. Councilmember Clark said the remodel was needed but her concern was the financing. She asked how the issuance of the GO bonds affected the capacity for other needs that might require GO bonds. Councilmember Clark wanted to know what other needs wouldn't get met. . Ms. Rios said what was being looked at was the capacity to absorb the costs using the current property tax levy. As for additional projects, with the current process to prioritize future GO bonds (2021-2022 timeframe), there was a limit on what could be added. It would have an impact on the prioritization of other projects in the future. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 2 of 11 Ms. Rios said if the station remodel was a priority for Council, funding was available. If there was something else that had a higher priority, Council would have to make that decision. Councilmember Clark asked how much GO capacity was currently available and was there residual GO capacity available, if needed. Ms. Rios did not have the balance of the GO bonds but the last time it had been reviewed the balance was more than sufficient. The concern was the ability to pay the debt without raising property taxes. She said there were other ways to structure the debt to allow repayment of the borrowed amount without raising the secondary property tax. Councilmember Clark asked how close was the City to the capacity limit. Ms. Rios stated that approximately $17 million would be issued in January 2018, which was very near the,capacity. Councilmember Clark requested that Council be provided with the actual numbers and the balance once the $17 million was issued. Ms. Rios said certain assumptions would have to be made to provide the requested numbers. Because there were various ways to restructure the debt, there was no straightforward answer but an assumption could be provided. Councilmember Clark asked about the accuracy of the estimate for the project. Ms. Woytenko said the department had done its best to provide the most accurate estimates. The estimate of $1.4 million was an "all -in" estimate so that it would not be necessary to come back to Council for additional funding. Councilmember Aldama was concerned about the capacity and debt service. He asked for clarification on whether the dollar amount was going to be sufficient to improve such things as the bay doors because there was very little clearance for the ladder trucks. Ms. Woytenko said many options were reviewed and the $1.4 million proposal was the best fit. The bay doors would not be addressed because they were structural. She said much of the infrastructure would be renewed to buy time until further actions could be taken in five to seven years. Councilmember Aldama asked how the remodel would affect service to the community. Chief Deputy Smith provided an overview on the plan for services during the remodel. Councilmember Aldama supported the new fire station and asked if seven years was the maximum timeframe until further renovations would be needed. Ms. Woytenko said seven years might not be the maximum. The building would be assessed on a regular basis. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the issue with the sewer system had been identified. Ms. Woytenko said the fire station was built in 1979 with cast iron piping. Due to the age and climate there was disintegration of the lines. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the line would be replaced to the City main. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 3 of 11 Ms. Woytenko said that was correct. Councilmember Tolmachoff said there had been discussion about whether the station was in the proper location, due to growth, etc. She asked if the�project was a temporary fix and in five to seven years, the City would be looking to fit a new station into Capital Improvement Projects (CIP). Ms. Woytenko said it was part of the CIP discussion. Fire Station 152 would be re -addressed in five to seven years ,with regard to size and location. Councilmember Tolmachoff was concerned that putting "band-aids" on the sewer system was not a good use of funds., She asked how solid were the costs for asbestos mitigation. Ms. Woytenko explained that a partial asbestos abatement was previously performed at Fire Station 152. The current project would address the restroom as a confined space. She said, based on previous work completed at the station, she was confident in the cost of $120,000. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the asbestos was confined to the restrooms. Ms. Woytenko said asbestos was known to be in the flooring materials in the restroom and some = of the hallways. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how the gender -neutral restrooms would be managed with eight individuals using them. Ms. Woytenko said the gender -neutral restroom was for either gender and the door would lock so that the person using it would have privacy. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how many other fire stations had the gender -neutral restrooms. Ms. Woytenko said all but two of the fire stations had gender -neutral restrooms. Councilmember Turner said Fire Station 152 was a high priority and he envisioned that the station would be replaced. He said about twenty percent of the cost of a new station was being spent to rehab the existing facility. Councilmember Turner asked about the ability to build a new station rather than rehab the old station. Councilmember Turner said fire trucks exited out of the station onto Bethany Home Road. He asked if there was a preferred model for station design. Deputy Chief Smith explained that from a traffic safety and logistic perspective, it was not ideal for the trucks to exit onto a main arterial. A better solution would be for the trucks to exit out onto 69th Avenue. A traffic light or warning system would be a good alternative. Councilmember Turner said the proposal did not include any traffic mitigation costs. He asked if there would be any effort to adapt the station for Low Acuity (LA) service. Deputy Chief Smith said the operations group was reviewing the response and call data. He would rather defer the question to the Operations Chief for further information regarding the long, medium and.short-term range plans. Councilmember Turner said the station received approximately 500 calls a year, putting the station in the hot zone. He said the majority of the calls were medical rather than firefighting and asked if that information was being reviewed. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 4 of 11 Councilmember Malnar asked if other fire stations were considered for the same type of renovations. Ms. Woytenko said an assessment was being performed on all public safety facilities, including fire stations. Station 152 had the highest need but that did not mean that others were not in need of rehab. The other facilities would be addressed in the CIP. Mayor Weiers said, because of the height of the firefighters, there was a need for larger beds. He wanted to make sure the designs were in place to accommodate the larger sized beds. He said having the truck bays available to the contractors might allow for quicker renovations and possible cost savings. Deputy Chief Smith said there was a plan to put the apparatus trucks next to the temporary facilities to allow for quicker response times. He said a local mattress store was providing longer mattresses. Mayor Weiers was in support of the project. Councilmember Clark asked how long the remodel would take. Ms. Woytenko said the architect estimated construction would take four months. If approved, there would be a request for proposals (RFP) so it could be the end of June/July before construction was completed. Councilmember Clark hoped that the Fire Department would pick a location for the LA units because an assessment had indicated a need for emergency medical. Fire Chief Terry Garrison explained the renovation would allow for an LA unit or an ambulance, if that was something Council would like to support in the future. Based on the collected data, the LA unit seemed to be more appropriate for Station 152. Councilmember Clark asked if the LA unit was more cost effective. Chief Garrison said the LA units were the most cost effective. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how long it would take to bond for a new fire station. Ms. Rios said the City could issue bonds again in 2022, which allowed the project to start in 2021. There was an 18 -month window that allowed the City to reimburse for project costs. Ms. Rios said regarding the question about the ability to build a new fire station for $8 million, it would not be feasible without restructuring items that were currently in the budget. Additionally, in the next couple of years, $1,0.6'million would be used for major reconstruction. Mr. Phelps stated the cost for a new fire station would be in the $10 to $12 million range and was not sure how the $8 million cost was determined. Mr. Jack Friedline said the City had not done well in maintaining Station 152 due to financial limitations at the time. The City was looking at ways to evaluate the stations and determine the need for LA units. He said a new station would cost approximately $12 million. Councilmember Tolmachoff was not questioning the replacement of the fire station. Rather, would a new fire station be necessary to replace Fire Station 152 after expending $1.4 million for renovations. It was important to consider re -purposing items if that was the case. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 5 of 11 Councilmember Turner asked if 2,000 square feet would be added for work out space. Ms. Woytenko said the 2,000 square feet was existing space. The space was currently being _ used for storage and it would be re -purposed. Councilmember Turner asked if the exterior of the station would be receiving a face lift. Chief Deputy Smith said the bay doors would receive new paint and if the budget allowed, possibly be replaced with bi-fold doors. The cost was approximately $30,000 per door and the doors were more affordable to maintain. He said the entrance to the lobby area would receive an update as well as a reconfiguration of the front parking lot. Councilmember Turner supported the renovations. Councilmember Aldama had previously requested a review of public safety facilities. He had asked that Fire Station 152 come to Council as a separate item so that it wouldn't get diluted in the CIP process. With the consensus of Council, the project would move forward. He wanted to make sure future plans for a new station were taken into consideration. Councilmember Aldama had received an email regarding a Certificate of Need or Certificate of Necessity. If that were to happen, the City would have to consider a public/private partnership for ambulance service and the need for the ambulances to be housed. He requested that an estimate for a new facility along with appropriate location(s) be completed and returned to Council for further evaluation. Mr. Friedline.explained that the current renovation should provide five to seven years of operations. He said a new station would be included in the next ten-year CIP cycle. Other fire stations would need maintenance and rehabilitation. A consultant could be hired to develop programming for the stations, for maintenance and replacement in an orderly fashion. Councilmember Aldama said a review of the facilities was needed. Mr. Friedline confirmed that a review would be completed. Councilmember Turner asked, with all of the issues being addressed, why the facility, wouldn't hold up for seven years. Ms. Woytenko said the station could have a potentially longer timeframe than the seven years but there were many items that were not being addressed. Mayor,Weiers asked, regarding the stations in need of renovations or, replacement, when they were built and what were the issues. Deputy Chief Smith said Fire Station 153 was the oldest and would be next to need replacement. The station was not big enough and only housed a certain type of apparatus and nothing additional could be placed there such as LA units, ladder trucks and ambulances. A plan had been created for replacing the stations and making sure the projects were being placed in the CIP. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to move forward. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 6 of 11 2. BULK TRASH PROGRAM CHANGES Presented By: Michelle Woytenko, Director, Field Operations Presented By: Torrance McDonald, Solid Waste Superintendent Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Woytenko said staff was proposing changes to the Bulk Trash Program. She explained that bulk trash was the large bulky items picked up from residential neighborhoods each month. It was not the weekly residential trash pick-up. Mr. McDonald explained that there had been many concerns expressed at recent district neighborhood meetings and rate adjustment meetings regarding bulk trash. Concerns included bulk trash service during holidays and set -out times and placement of bulk trash items. Staff had discussed ways to address the issues and had taken the matter to the Citizens Utility Advisory Commission. Mr. McDonald said the proposal was to: • reorganize scheduling and the collection process • enforce/evaluate placement of materials Ms. Woytenko said if Council approved the proposal, the City Code would require amendment by adoption of an ordinance at Council's December 12th voting meeting. She said the Code sections to be changed were: Section 18-1: Current wording: "the Administrator means the Public Works Director or his delegate." Proposed change: "the Administrator means the City Manager or his delegate." Section 18-108(C): Current wording: "No owner/occupant of residential property shall place bulk trash out for collection earlier than Thursday of the week preceding the scheduled pick up week." Proposed change: "the Administrator shall determine the allowable placement dates and time for the bulk trash collection." Ms. Woytenko said there would be a six-month soft implementation. Ms. Woytenko said the two issues being addressed were: holiday weeks would be designated as off weeks and the set -out time was changed from Thursday to Saturday for bulk trash items. The items were requested changes from the residents as well as the Citizens Utility Advisory Commission. Mayor Weiers said both issues were problematic. He said some people, himself included, needed several days to set out bulk items. He also asked what would happen in the event of a monsoon storm. Councilmember Tolmachoff had never received a complaint that bulk trash shouldn't be picked up on a holiday week. That was when residents needed it the most. She said with the proposed schedule change, some zones wouldn't get a pickup in November and December. Changing the weeks for residents would be a disaster. The biggest complaint she had received was lack of enforcement. Councilmember Tolmachoff was not in support to the proposed change. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to know how often crews worked in Skunk Creek for the current year. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page Tof 11 Ms. Woytenko said Skunk Creek was an example of a special project that could be completed during one of the off weeks. Staff also completed mandatory training, equipment maintenance and special projects during off weeks. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted to know what special projects were performed in 2017 on the off days. Mr. McDonald stated training was completed and crews assisted the Parks department with special projects. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how many times the Parks department received assistance. Mr. McDonald did not have that information available. Councilmember Tolmachoff had been trying for three years to get Skunk Creek cleaned out and no information had been provided to indicate that there was 21 days of availability. She was concerned about the bulk trash being unavailable on Christmas week. Councilmember Tolmachoff was not in support of the requested change. _ Councilmember Clark said the proposed calendar indicated there would be no service for Section 1 during the month of December. Ms. Woytenko said there were twelve collections per year. Section 1 was scheduled for a pick up the last week of November and again the first week of January. Councilmember Clark said Section 1 was shorted one month of collection. Ms. Woytenko said during the month of August, Section 1 was scheduled for two collection weeks. Councilmember Clark said the proposed schedule didn't make sense and needed to be refined. She had brought the request forward because of rotation. The service in Section 4 had not been good due to how the holidays fell. Councilmember Clark felt a rotation would be good for the residents in Section 4. She was also concerned about outreach and asked if the schedule would be posted on the City website. Ms. Woytenko said information would be posted on the website. Councilmember Clark had no issue with changing Section 18-1 of the City Code. There was no clarity in the proposed change to Section 18-108. Residents would not be able to locate information regarding trash pickup dates. It would be better to amend Section 18-108(C) to provide a clear explanation of the bulk trash revision. There was a need for enforcement of bulk trash. Mayor Weiers was not in support of Saturday set -out for bulk pickup. It would create havoc for residents along with many other potential problems. He would like to see tough enforcement on the commercial companies that were dumping trash on residential bulk trash piles. Councilmember Tolmachoff agreed there was a lack of enforcement. If a rotation in collection schedules was necessary, she suggested an annual rotation. Ms. Woytenko said the proposed start date was January 1, 2018. With regard to the rotation, the biggest complaint being .addressed was that Section 4's bulk trash was collected on every holiday week and as a result, the neighborhood looked horrible during holiday weeks. She said in order City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 8 of 11 to address the complaint, staff had decided to designate holiday weeks as non -collection weeks. Councilmember Tolmachoff said there was more bulk trash on the streets after Christmas. Councilmember Malnar understood what staff was trying to accomplish with regard to the schedule, but wanted to address the enforcement process. He suggested enforcing the 24-hour rule, before and after. Additional time could be allowed for residents with bigger lot sizes. The fee could be reduced for smaller piles of bulk trash and smaller items. Councilmember Aldama agreed with what had been discussed and wanted to see tougher enforcement of violations. He asked staff to investigate habitual offenders coming from Phoenix and dumping trash along 59th to 63rd, which was vacant property. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if staff had researched what other Valley cities were doing. Ms. Woytenko said other cities' services had been reviewed. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if Council districts could submit requests for special projects. Ms. Woytenko said that was correct. Mayor Weiers asked if there had been any thought to adding another crew to deal with the issues rather -than changing the schedule. Mr. McDonald said with the increase of bulk trash the department would need to add additional crew. Ms. Woytenko said the survey completed by the residents had confirmed that residents were very happy with the service and were not willing to give up the monthly bulk trash service. Councilmember Aldama asked how many inspectors the City had. Ms. Woytenko said there was one designated bulk trash inspector and others performed refuse and recycling inspections. Mr. McDonald had implemented a requirement that all inspectors now handle solid waste issues. The solid waste drivers also assisted. Councilmember Turner was not in favor of the rotation because of the confusion it would cause. Councilmember Clark asked if it was a violation for commercial landscapers to place bulk trash in the resident's bulk trash. Ms. Woytenko said bulk trash was for residents. The nature of the material made it the most difficult to enforce. Staff was often unable to determine if the bulk items being disposed of were the resident's and if the resident had a landscaper. However, if it was on commercial land and staff could observe the actual dumping, staff could enforce it. Councilmember Turner suggested that bilingual educational materials be distributed to ensure that all residents were in compliance. Councilmember Tolmachoff was unable to find a phone number to report bulk trash violations on the website. She asked that the website be updated to provide a phone number for complaints or concerns. Mayor Weiers asked if it was possible to have the driver of the trash truck record violations. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 9 of 11 Ms. Woytenko said a procedure had recently been implemented and the drivers had been educated on things to report such as missing electrical panel covers, bulk trash violations, etc. Vice Mayor Hugh hadn't received negative feedback on bulk trash, only positive feedback on bulk trash and the street sweepers. Mayor Weiers said there was no Council consensus on the rotation. He suggested staff come back to Council with a modified proposal. Ms. Woytenko said the consensus was to increase enforcement. She would not be bringing an ordinance changing City Code to the voting meeting on December 12th. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Phelps introduced newly appointed Interim Director for the Public Facilities, Recreation and Special Events Division, Jim Burke. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT Mr. Bailey had no report. COUNCIL ITEMS OF, SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Aldama asked that staff put together a report on the Glendale Glitters event. Councilmember Clark asked staff to review the statutes regarding the high concentration of liquor stores in low socio-economic demographic areas. She wanted to see if a program could be developed that looked specifically at liquor stores in certain areas of the community. It was an issue that needed to be re -addressed. Councilmember Turner commented that items on the workshop agenda had been scheduled for action at the December 12th voting meeting. It seemed like that timeframe was too short because it was the first time Council was -hearing the proposals, as well as the public. He wanted more time between workshops and voting meetings. Mayor Weiers requested that staff research and bring forward a model ordinance that addressed the ECO/ATM kiosk issue. The issue had been discussed in the past. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Joyce Clark, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to enter into an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed City Council. Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 10 of 11 Council entered into an executive session at 3:42 p.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Ray Malnar, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed The executive session was adjourned at 4:22 p.m. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Councilmember Ray Malnar, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to adjourn the meeting. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 4:22 p.m. ,1 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 5th day of December, 2017. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 27th day of December, 2017. J ie K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Workshop Minutes - December 5, 2017 Page 11 of 11