Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, MAY 05, 2020 AT 6:30 PM, MUNICIPAL CENTER I, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 50 E CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Jenn Daniels, Vice Mayor Scott Anderson, Councilmembers Yung Koprowski, Scott September, Bill Spence, 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, Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost, and Planner Ashlee MacDonald AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER Mayor Daniels called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmember September introduced Councilmember Koprowski’s children who led the Pledge of Allegiance. Vice Mayor Anderson gave the invocation. ROLL CALL Town Clerk Maxwell called roll and declared a quorum present. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS – consider acceptance of the resignation of Yung Koprowski from the Citizens Transportation Task Force, effective May 5, 2020. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Anderson, seconded by Councilmember September, to approve Item 1. Motion carried 6-0 with appointed Councilmember Koprowski not yet sworn in. 2. OATH OF OFFICE - Presiding Judge David Cutchen administers Oath of Office to newly selected Councilmember. Presiding Judge David Cutchen administered the Oath of Office of Councilmember Yung Koprowski. 1 Councilmember Koprowski thanked the former and current Councilmembers and Town staff for their assistance bringing her up to speed and being welcoming. PRESENTATIONS; PROCLAMATIONS None. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS CONSENT CALENDAR A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Anderson, seconded by Councilmember Spence, to approve Consent Items 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10; and remove Item 7 from the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 7-0. 3. CONTRACT/HUMAN RESOURCES- consider approval of Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 320000334 with Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Inc. clarifying the Governmental 457(b) Plan Loan Procedures to allow for re-financing of loans and authorize the Mayor to execute the document. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 4. CONTRACT – consider approval of: a) Job Order No. 1 to Contract No. 320000233 with PCL Construction in an amount not to exceed $169,000 for emergency repair of the 48-inch finished waterline and south reservoir at the North Water Treatment Plant, Project No. WA1586, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents; and b) a Contingency Transfer from the Water Replacement Fund to Project No. WA1586 in the amount of $180,000. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 5. CHANGE ORDER – consider approval of Change Order No. 1 to Contract No. 319000444 with Trane US, Inc. increasing the contract amount by $357,000 to upgrade the Energy Management System for the Public Safety Complex heating, ventilation and air- conditioning (HVAC) systems and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 6. BUDGET – consider approval of Contingency Transfers for claims settlements incurred for the period January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020 from: a) General Fund Contingency Fund in the amount of $73,860; b) Streets Contingency Fund in the amount of $19,710; 2 c) Water Operating Fund in the amount of $7,570; d) Environmental Services - Residential Contingency Fund in the amount of $10,390; and e) Environmental Services - Commercial Contingency Fund in the amount of $6,760. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 7. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN — consider accepting the draft Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) 2021-2030 and declare it a public document. Councilmember Taylor discussed items he said may not have been fully-vetted and that had tax increase implications, such as future parks bonds for the Regional Park in the south. He said though the Advocacy Center intention was well-placed, the financial model needed work and paying for it with a bond warranted scrutiny. He stated there would likely be a lot of real estate available without having debt notes that may drive future tax increases and expressed concern of the future impacts of the COVID-19 situation. Councilmember Yentes stated she seconded the comments made by Councilmember Taylor. Mayor Daniels stated the CIP was a long-term planning document, adding that many steps happen before an item was approved. Budget and Management Director Pfost stated the CIP was a planning document which would allow the Town to pick paths going forward and vet them before they were adopted. She stated the Council would only adopt the budget for the upcoming year; the other years were used for planning purposes but did not tie the Town to any of the options in the CIP. Vice Mayor Anderson stated he shared Councilmember Taylor’s concern about the Advocacy Center and would like to ensure the Town was receiving the best value. A MOTION was made by Mayor Daniels, seconded by Vice Mayor Anderson, to approve Item 7. Motion carried 5-2, with Councilmembers Taylor and Yentes casting the dissenting votes. 8. FINAL PLAT S18-19 - consider approval of the final plat for Cadiz located south of the southeast corner of Greenfield Road and Germann Road. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 9. BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS – consider appointment of three regular members to the Parks and Recreation Board with terms beginning May 13, 2020 and ending May 12, 2023. 3 A MOTION was made by Councilmember Spence, seconded by Councilmember Taylor, to appoint Bob Ferron, Paul Gonzales, and Felicia Vandermolen to the Parks and Recreation Board with terms beginning May 13, 2020 and ending May 12, 2020. Motion carried 7-0. 10. MINUTES – consider approval of the minutes of Regular Meeting of April 21, 2020 and the Special Meetings of April 16, 2020 and April 21, 2020. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Daniels opened the public hearing for items 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, and 20. No one wished to speak and Mayor Daniels closed the public hearing. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Anderson, seconded by Councilmember Yentes, to approve public hearing items 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Motion carried 7-0. 11. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 7 Beer and Wine Bar Alcohol License for Fry's Food and Drug #658 located at 4057 East Williams Field Road. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. 12. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 9 Liquor Store Alcohol License with sampling privileges for Fry's Food and Drug #658 located at 4057 East Williams Field Road. Mayor Daniels opened the Public Hearing on item 12. Councilmember Taylor expressed concern regarding sampling privileges at the location. Mayor Daniels closed the Public Hearing on item 12. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Yentes, seconded by Councilmember Spence to approve Item 12. Motion carried 6-1 with Councilmember Taylor casting the dissenting vote. 13. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 10 Beer and Wine Store Alcohol License for Fry's Fuel Center #658 located at 4123 East Williams Field Road. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. 14. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 12 Restaurant Alcohol License for Bourbon & Bones LLC located at 2150 East Williams Field Road, Suite 123. 4 This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. 15. GENERAL PLAN GP18-14 / ZONING Z18-28 - conduct hearing and consider: a) adoption of a Resolution approving a Minor General Plan Amendment to change the land use classification of approximately 39.9 acres generally located at southwest corner of Higley Road and Riggs Road from Regional Commercial (RC) to Residential > 2-3.5 DU/ Acre; and b) approval of the findings and adoption of an Ordinance for Cordillera to rezone approximately 54.7 acres generally located at the southwest corner of Higley Road and Riggs Road from Town of Gilbert Regional Commercial (RC) to approx. 35.8 acres of Single Family - 6 (SF-6) zoning district, 4.08 acres of Single Family 8 (SF-8) zoning district, and 14.8 acres of Regional Commercial (RC) zoning district all with a Planned Area Development (PAD) Overlay district to modify minimum lot area; lot dimensions and the arterial intersection landscape requirements. Mayor Daniels opened the public hearing on Item 15. Planner MacDonald gave an overview of the project and summarized details of the request. She reviewed zoning maps, proposed changes, the phasing and development plans, the requested modifications, public participation efforts, and the Planning Commission’s recommendations. Rick Blasier, Gilbert resident, stated the area of the project was part of the San Tan Valley corridor, which should have a rural feel based on the General Plan. He expressed concerns regarding the intentions of the applicant. He stated he would like to have a single-story requirement for the entire development but said the minimum request would be to have the perimeter houses limited to single-story. He said someone from the Planning Commission should be required to attend neighborhood meetings to ensure their comments were heard. Ralph Pew, representing Vestar Development Company, described the proposed project. He summarized the conceptual development plan, phasing plan, and surrounding zoning districts. He addressed concerns from vicinity property owners regarding commercial shopping, density/lot size, and single-story requests. Councilmember Taylor spoke of a study done by the City of Chandler indicating it was reasonable to have three corners for commercial development. He said Vestar made reasonable accommodations regarding the single-story ask, the increased lot size, and the two left-hand turns; adding Vestar made a serious compromise and he supported the item. Vice Mayor Anderson discussed his experience writing the San Tan area character plan and a prior debate over the density of the area. He said he tended to agree that the large commercial corners probably would not develop as in the past. He said the goal was to keep density in that character area at about 3.2 units to the acre, this project would do that, and he would be supporting the item. 5 Councilmember Spence voiced agreement with Councilmember Taylor and Vice Mayor Anderson. He said it was a case of quality over quantity, and he believed the project would draw in the right type of commercial property. Councilmember Yentes stated though residents would like to see more commercial in the area, she recognized bringing more residents to the area would make it more desirable and may attract more commercial. She said she would be supporting the item. Mayor Daniels spoke of prior history with the project and its quality in terms of street design. She said she appreciated the efforts of the applicant to hear the needs of the residents, adding she saw value in the project and the ability for commercial development to be built. She added that commercial follows rooftops and rooftops drive commercial. Mayor Daniels closed the public hearing on Item 15. A MOTION was made by Councilmember September, seconded by Councilmember Spence, to approve item 15. Motion carried 7-0; Resolution No. 4136 and Ordinance No. 2762 were adopted. 16. GENERAL PLAN GP19-15 / ZONING Z19-27 - conduct hearing and consider: a) adoption of a Resolution approving a Minor General Plan Amendment to change the land use classification of approximately 17.85 acres generally located at the southwest corner of Val Vista Drive and Ocotillo Road from Residential > 2-3.5 to General Commercial; and b) approval of the findings and adoption of an Ordinance for Lifetime South Gilbert to rezone approximately 17.85 acres of real property generally located at the southwest corner of Val Vista Drive and Ocotillo Road from Single Family -35 (SF-35) zoning district to General Commercial (GC) zoning district with a Planned Area Development overlay zoning district (PAD) to modify maximum building height requirements and to modify stepback requirements for certain buildings within 90 feet of residential property. Item 16 was continued to the June 2, 2020 Council meeting. 17. GENERAL PLAN GP20-01 / ZONING Z20-01 - conduct hearing and consider: a) adoption of a Resolution approving a Minor General Plan Amendment to change the land use classification of approximately 18.83 acres generally located at the southwest corner of Space Place and Elliot Road from Light Industrial (LI) to General Industrial (GI); and b) approval of the findings and adoption of an Ordinance for CBRE Green Expansion to amend Ordinances Nos. 470, 516, 528, 536, 549, 625, and 692 to remove approximately 18.83 acres generally located on the southwest corner of Space Place and Elliot Roads from the Fortune Center Planned Area Development overlay zoning district (PAD) and to 6 rezone said real property from Light Industrial (LI) with a PAD to General Industrial (GI) zoning district. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. Resolution No. 4137 and Ordinance No. 2763 were adopted. 18. CODE OF GILBERT - conduct hearing and consider adoption of an Ordinance amending the Code of Gilbert, Arizona, by amending the Code of Gilbert, Arizona, Chapter 22 Court, Article II Municipal Court, Section 22-32 Presiding Judge and Other Judges of the Municipal Court; Chapter 22 Court, Article III Appointment of Judges of the Municipal Court, Section 22-41 Applicability, Section 22-42 Selection Committee, Section 22-44 Selection Process— Full-time or Part-time judges of the Municipal Court, Section 22-45 Selection Process— Presiding Judge, 22-46 Selection Process—Judges Pro Tempore., and Section 22-48 Evaluation; related to the selection and reappointment of Gilbert Municipal Court Judges. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. Ordinance No. 2764 was adopted. 19. BUDGET - conduct hearing and adopt the budgets of the 2020-2021 Street Light Improvement Districts (SLID) and establish June 2, 2020 as the final public hearing and adopting the tax levy for the districts. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. 20. BUDGET — conduct hearing and adopt the budgets on the Parkway Maintenance Improvement District Nos. 07-01, 07-02, 07-03, 07-04, 07-05, 07-06, 07-07, 07-08, 07-09, 07-10, and 07-11 for July l, 2020 to June 30, 2021, and establish June 2,2020 as the date of the final public hearing and adopting a tax levy for the districts. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. RECESS REGULAR MEETING AND RECONVENE IN SPECIAL MEETING Mayor Daniels recessed the Regular Meeting and reconvened in Special Meeting. 21. BUDGET — conduct hearing regarding the FY2021 Property Tax Levy and direct staff; if necessary, to submit an Ordinance setting the secondary property tax levy for FY2021 at $25,880,000 for adoption on June 2, 2020. Items 21 and 22 were discussed together. Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost gave an overview of the FY2021 preliminary budget and property tax levy. She discussed Gilbert’s accolades, current General Fund major revenues, and tax sources. She said the conservative approach of underbudgeting sales tax has served Gilbert well in dealing with COVID-19. She discussed State-shared sales tax and income tax, noting COVID-19 would not impact the current fiscal year. She summarized the budget process and timeline, requested positions, fiscal year comparisons, Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects, and the property tax levy. 7 Councilmember Taylor discussed the property tax levy, noting the rate was not set by the Council, it was a derivate of the levy that was set. He stated there was a tax increase over the past couple of years and would be an increase again. He said the Public Training Facility was needed but wasteful. He spoke of the predicted financial crisis and unemployment rates. He discussed staff headcount and the possible addition of the ambulance service, adding the responsible thing to do now was to cut taxes. He expressed concern regarding increasing the budget during this time. Councilmember Yentes discussed the uncertainty of economic times and the need for the Town to have flexibility, but stated it was unrealistic and did not send the right message to residents. She noted the sacrifices in the business community and of citizens. She discussed specific Full Time Employee (FTE) requests and questioned if they were essential. She said adding an additional line of service to run ambulance services was problematic, adding the hope was that it would revenue-neutral but she was skeptical. She said she was not confident that that expansion of that line of service had been well-vetted. Mayor Daniels discussed her history with Gilbert’s past budgets, stating she was sensitive to the value the residents received for their tax dollars. She said Gilbert had the lowest number of employees per resident and the Town continued to operate well within its means. She thanked staff for creating levers and stop-gap measures during this time. She said she understood the Town set the property tax levy but disagreed that it was a tax increase. She discussed the proposed ambulance service, noting the Town was close to not having ambulance services in the past. She said the new line of service was a fundamental need for the community. She discussed staff positions and the value they provide to citizens, adding she was happy to support one of the best budgets she had seen. A MOTION was made by Councilmember September, seconded by Vice Mayor Anderson, to approve Item 21. Motion carried 5-2 with Councilmembers Taylor and Yentes casting the dissenting votes. 22. BUDGET - Acceptance of the preliminary budget for July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 of $992,839,910 and establish June 2, 2020 as the date of public hearing and adoption of the final budget. A MOTION was made by Councilmember September, seconded by Councilmember Koprowski, to approve Item 22. Motion carried 5-2 with Councilmembers Taylor and Yentes casting the dissenting votes. ADJOURN SPECIAL MEETING AND RECONVENE IN REGULAR MEETING Mayor Daniels adjourned the Special Meeting and reconvened the Regular Meeting. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 23. COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION - consider acceptance of the Budget Report and Contingency Report for the Third Quarter of FY2020. 8 Mayor Daniels announced that she requested monthly quarterly reports versus quarterly monthly reports from the Budget department. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Anderson, seconded by Councilmember September, to approve Item 23. Motion carried 7-0. 24. BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES - reports from Council Liaisons for the: a) Subcommittee on Board and Commission Application Screening, Interview, and Selection b) Ad Hoc c) Regional Meetings d) Citizens’ Transportation Task Force e) Industrial Development Authority f) Judicial Review Committee g) Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee h) Parks and Recreation Board i) Planning Commission j) Redevelopment Commission k) Town of Gilbert, AZ Public Facilities MPC l) Town of Gilbert, AZ Water Resources MPC m) Town of Gilbert, AZ Self-Insured Trust Fund for Health Benefits n) Utility Board Mayor Daniels announced that Council liaison assignment lists were updated to include the new councilmembers. POLICY ITEMS None. FUTURE MEETINGS None. COMMUNICATIONS Report from the TOWN MANAGER on current events. Town Manager Banger welcomed Councilmember Koprowski to the Council. He thanked Kelly Pfost and the Budget Team for their work. He noted four teams assembled in response to the Covid-19 crisis: Team 1 to focus on supporting the business community; Team 2 to focus on the reopening of Gilbert’s facilities, continuity of operations, and safety; Team 3 to focus on capturing process improvements, creativity, value-add and incorporating those elements into a new model of service; and Team 4 to focus on tracking Covid-19 expenses and submitting reimbursement requests. Lastly, Manager Banger congratulated Stormwater Utility Technician Doug Cernetisch on his retirement and thanked him for contributions to Team Gilbert since 1993. 9 Report from the COUNCIL on current events. Vice Mayor Anderson wished Mayor Daniels a happy belated birthday. Report from the MAYOR on current events. Mayor Daniels encouraged the Council to reach out to their networks and encourage citizens to complete the 2020 Census. ADJOURN Mayor Daniels adjourned the meeting at 8:11 p.m. 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 5th day of May, 2020. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________ 2020. ___________________________________ Lisa Maxwell, MMC, Town Clerk 10