Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN SPECIAL MEETING OF TUESDAY OCTOBER 29, 2019 AT 5:00 PM, MUNICIPAL CENTER I, ROOM 300 50 E CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Jenn Daniels, Vice Mayor Eddie Cook, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Brigette Peterson, Jordan Ray, Jared Taylor, and Aimee Yentes COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Clerk Lisa Maxwell, Deputy Clerk Chaveli Herrera, Town Attorney Christopher Payne AGENDA ITEM NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY CALL TO ORDER OF JOINT MEETING OF GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL AND GILBERT PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD Mayor Daniels called the meeting to order at 5:16 p.m. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. Introductions and an overview of the purpose of the meeting Mayor Daniels welcomed everyone and asked the attendees to introduce themselves and stated the continued importance of the Joint meetings with the Schools. 2. Update from Gilbert Public Schools including current and upcoming projects and goals. Gilbert Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Shane McCord gave a presentation on the accomplishments and strategic highlights of Gilbert Public Schools (GPS) and provided a Campo Verde Pool update. He recognized several teachers and administrators for their accomplishments and acknowledged various athletic programs across Gilbert Public Schools who won State Championships. He also recognized the Mesquite High School band and the Gilbert High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) Drill team for their successes. He stated that GPS was recently ranked The Best Place to Work, The Best School District and a GPS teacher, Cliff Gustafson was ranked as The Best High School Teacher. He also recognized GPS employees of the year. He reported the 2018-2019 Scholarship money earned was over $70,000,000 and he provided an overview of the GPS 1 Strategic Operating Plan. He acknowledged the GPS Governing Board and discussed the core values and beliefs of the organization. He discussed safe and supportive schools, family and community engagement, employee excellence, financial and operational efficiency and student success. He detailed the goals and actions for reaching student success. He provided a Campo Verde pool update and discussed issues with changes in the venue and time. He provided information on availability concerns of pools in the East Valley and addressed looking for future solutions. He discussed conversations with neighboring communities and pool availability and stated that the conversations were encouraging. He stated his support for both short term and long-term solutions. Mayor Daniels discussed the continued partnerships and collaboration between the Town of Gilbert and GPS. Councilmember Taylor thanked Superintendent McCord for the update and asked that information be continuously shard with the parents. 3. Presentation and discussion on Gilbert growth and development including an update on current and upcoming activities within the Town. Town Manager Patrick Banger detailed the demographics of the Town and provided and overview of the finances and discussed being fiscally responsible. He provided additional details on debt reduction, savings and benchmarking with similar cities across the Valley. He stated the Town of Gilbert had the lowest cost for services for cities in the region, lowest sales tax and property tax rates and recognized that the Town received a AAA credit rating. He discussed the employment opportunities brought to the Town provided by Deloitte and mentioned their future growth. He remarked on the continued development in the Heritage District and the upcoming mixed-use development at the Commons at the Heritage North. He provided information on the Phoenix Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the additional resources they would bring. Mayor Daniels spoke in agreement of the advanced women’s health options that would be offered. Town Manager Banger discussed the opening of Gilbert Regional Park and the amenities offered. He provided information on future phases and concept designs and information on the private partnership with The Strand at Gilbert Regional Park. He provided additional information on Desert Sky Park and the partnership between the Town of Gilbert and Maricopa County. He stated the Park would have multipurpose fields and Mayor Daniels added there will be a ninja warrior type course as well. He mentioned the Public Safety statistics for the Town and stated that Gilbert was the 2nd safest city in the Nation, the addition of 15 new officers and an update on the Public Safety Training Facility Construction. He discussed the successes of Park University and University of Arizona Nursing Program. He announced that Park University completed their first full year with 300 students and 11 sports programs and the discussed the anticipation for future expansion. University of Arizona Nursing Program had 24 students with the capacity of 100. He provided information on the demographics within GPS. Lastly, he discussed the new mission of the Town. He provided information on future build out challenges and current work on sustainability and continued focus on key areas and investments. He ended his presentation with a discussion on the City of the Future initiative and played a short video. 4. Discussion on topics impacting Gilbert Public Schools and the Town, potential partnerships and collaboration opportunities. 2 Mayor Daniels opened the floor for questions. She acknowledged the great leadership within GPS and the Town and recognized their hard work and dedication to the future of Gilbert. Superintendent McCord shared a story about the growth of Gilbert and discussed the culture of the Town. He applauded the Town for their vision and understanding what was important to the community and for listening to the residents. He stated his appreciation of the continued partnership with the Town and for the residents. GPS Governing Board Member Lori Wood discussed a concern among residents regarding student safety and the traffic along Elliott and Greenfield and concerns of having no crosswalk in that area. Mayor Daniels discussed concerns with additional schools and recommended a discussion between the GPS traffic team and Towns traffic team to address areas of concern. She stated that safety was a top priority for the Town. GPS Governing Board President Reed Carr commended the partnerships between the Town and GPS. He spoke of his support of the Towns continuous recognition of the Schools accomplishments throughout the year. He encouraged Council to continue to attend School events to observe and understand what was happening at schools. He discussed continued work to look at opportunities for future collaboration efforts. Mayor Daniels mentioned a few of the important issues between GPS and the Town that are currently being collaborated on and she detailed the continued hard work. She acknowledged GPS and the Town for addressing tough issues in order to make a difference with the students. She detailed additional partnerships and resources that focus on addressing issues with depression and suicide and the importance of this focus. Vice Mayor Cook announced that the Bloom 360 program would be visiting various school districts to discuss domestic violence. Mayor Daniels discussed the shift in Gilbert over the years that has allowed for more conversations about tough issues and forming resources to tackle those issues. She stated that she was grateful for the opportunities to have those discussions. Vice Mayor Cook discussed the upcoming Gilbert Days parade and detailed the logistic concerns in allowing semi-trucks as part of the parade although all bands could be accommodated. Superintendent McCord shared a story about the parade’s history and acknowledged that the event is much larger and well attended and every school was now being represented. Mayor Daniels thanked everyone for their time and their comments. ADJOURN Mayor Daniels adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m. 3  ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Jenn Daniels, Mayor Lisa Maxwell, MMC, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Gilbert held on the 29th day of October, 2019. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________ 2019. ___________________________________ Lisa Maxwell, MMC, Town Clerk 4