Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL IN SPECIAL MEETING OF MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 AT 6:30 PM, MUNICIPAL CENTER 1, ROOM 300, 50 E CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Jenn Daniels, Vice Mayor Brigette Peterson, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Eddie Cook, Jordan Ray and Jared Taylor COUNCIL ABSENT: Councilmember Victor Petersen SCHOOL BOARD President Kristina Reese, Vice President Amy Kaylor, and MEMBERS PRESENT: Board Members Scott Glover, Rick Thornock and Greg Wojtovich STAFF PRESENT: Manager Patrick Banger, Clerk Lisa Maxwell, Town Attorney Christopher Payne CALL TO ORDER OF JOINT MEETING OF GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL AND HIGLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Mayor Jenn Daniels called the meeting to order at 6:36 p.m. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Mayor Jenn Daniels welcomed everyone had them introduce themselves. AGENDA ITEM ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. Update from the Higley Unified School District on activities, current and upcoming projects and goals for the Board. Dr. Mike Thomason, Higley Unified School District (HUSD) Superintendent, stated both high schools and 7 of the other 11 schools in the district are A schools as determined by the Arizona Department of Education. The HUSD Board pushes the schools to be their best. The group viewed the award winning videos produced by the HUSD that showed highlights from the district. HUSD staff members discussed the HUSD Strategic Plan. The District is currently in the second year of the implementation of that plan. Their mission is to be the school of choice for parents in their district. They are working to prepare students for whatever they want to do in life, whether it means going to a university or into a trade. HUSD has implemented a five year review cycle of the curriculum. In the past two years the art and math programs have been updated. There has been a focus on expanding the gifted and talented programs. HUSD offers a capstone diploma with Advanced Placement classes. HUSD staff discussed the various programs at the different schools. The Finance Director reported on the fiscal standing of HUSD. Recently Moody’s upgraded the school bond rating to Aa3. This upgrade will save HUSD in the amount of interest they pay each year. The Human Resources Director reported they are working on goal 2 from the 2017 Strategic Plan which involves improving the teaching and learning environment. The goal is to attract and retain good teachers. Last year HUSD had a 95% retention rate. This year they have added 71 total employees. The focus is to create a culture and climate of collaboration and trust, promoting and supporting creativity, and safety. Councilmember Jared Taylor asked about recruiting outside of Gilbert for certified positions. HUSD replied it has not been a problem to get qualified teachers because the district is located close to Phoenix and people want to be here. 2. Presentation and discussion on Gilbert growth and development with an update on current and upcoming activity within the Town. Town Manager Patrick Banger reported on highlights for the Town in the past few months. In the future the Town will be researching Smart Cities and the explosion of technology. The Town is developing an innovation roadmap and will be taking a structured approach to find what makes sense for the community. Autonomous vehicles and ride sharing will be very disruptive to established communities. Town staff has started talking about how Gilbert will break the cycle rise and decline that affects all cities. Things are good now and but it is important to recognize it is time to start planning for a downturn. The difficulty will be to convince residents there is a problem when things are going good now. Mayor Jenn Daniels said work is being done to future proof the Town. 3. Discussion on topics impacting Higley Unified School District and the Town, potential partnerships and collaboration opportunities. The Town has a partnership with HUSD to use the pools and the Center for Performing Arts. In the future the Mayor said she would like to see HUSD involved in planning for the Town’s Centennial. Dr. Mike Thomason is included in the meetings with Gilbert Public School, Chandler Public Schools, Charter schools, Chandler/Gilbert Community College, and the Arizona State University Polytech Campus where they are looking at teen suicide as a community problem. They are aligning their work so everyone is moving in the same direction. President Kristina Reese said she was surprised to see there have been 31 suicides in the East Valley in the last several months. The community is looking at schools and wondering why they are not emotionally supporting the students. Mayor Jenn Daniels said the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board is going to discuss this topic at an up-coming meeting. Vice President Amy Kolar said she is not sure the things that are being done now are reaching the children. Mayor Jenn Daniels mentioned the Student Citizen of the Month program. This is a way the schools can identify students who the Town can recognize. It can be a boost to students and a way to let them know they are doing a good job. Councilmember Jordan Ray said the Town is in need of playing fields. He would like to have a discussion about using some of the schools’ fields. It may be possible for the Town to install lights and use the fields at night. There was interest in exploring this possibility. Dr. Mike Thomason said he would like to offer the Higley Center for Performing Arts for the graduation ceremonies of the people graduating from the soon to be built Public Safety Training Facility. 4. Closing remarks. Mayor Jenn Daniels thanked everyone and said the two groups will meet again in two years. President Kristina Reese thanked the HUSD staff who was present. This is a small district without the funding of the larger districts. HUSD needs to think like the Town so they can avoid the downturn and make the right decisions for our community. ADJOURN Mayor Jenn Daniels adjourned the meeting at 8: 21 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Jenn Daniels, Mayor Lisa Maxwell, CMC, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the special meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Gilbert held on the 15th day of October, 2018. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________. ___________________________________ Lisa Maxwell, CMC, Town Clerk