Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2021 AT 6:30 PM, GILBERT PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING FACILITY, ATLAS AUDITORIUM, 6860 SOUTH POWER ROAD, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Brigette Peterson, Vice Mayor Yung Koprowski, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Laurin Hendrix, Scott September, Kathy Tilque, and Aimee Yentes COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera, Deputy Clerk Judy Martinez, and Town Attorney Christopher Payne AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmember Yentes led the Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor Jon Moton of Central Christian Church gave the invocation. ROLL CALL Town Clerk Herrera called roll and declared a quorum present. PRESENTATIONS; PROCLAMATIONS 1. PROCLAMATION - Proclamation declaring the week of November 8, 2021 as Veterans Week in Gilbert. Councilmember Tilque read a proclamation declaring the week of November 8, 2021 as Veterans Week in Gilbert and presented the proclamation to Peyton Parker, Chair of Gilbert’s Veterans Day Ceremony. Mayor Peterson asked all veterans and current members of the military to stand for recognition and thanked them for their service in honor of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS 1 Bill Spence, Gilbert resident, spoke of comments made by a member of the public at a prior Council meeting. He stated the comments were reprehensible and offensive toward women, and based on his time serving in the US Military and as a former Gilbert Councilmember, he strongly disagreed with the sentiment. He explained despite the nature of the comment, everyone had the right to Freedom of Speech, and he decided to interpret the comment as a request for Council to “grow a pear tree”. He then presented the Council with a pear tree sapling and spoke of a metaphorical olive branch to symbolize the willingness to work together with the Town. He shared additional comments regarding his views on the duties of the Town Council to not rubber stamp staff recommendations and to uphold laws and responsibilities based on the Town and its residents. He offered pear fruits as a final statement of working together and sharing in Gilbert kindness to the Council and residents. CONSENT CALENDAR A MOTION was made by Councilmember September, seconded by Councilmember Anderson, to approve Consent Items 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, & 18; and remove Items 6 and 10 from the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 7-0. 2. DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT – consider adoption of a Resolution approving a Development Reimbursement and Lien Agreement with AFDG Town Germann Owner LLC, for the design and construction of a traffic signal at Silverado and Germann, Project No. DR21- 0010, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. Resolution No. 4227 was adopted. 3. DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT – consider adoption of a Resolution approving a Development Reimbursement and Lien Agreement with KB Home Phoenix, Inc, for the reimbursement for street improvements to Riggs and Higley Roads, Project No. S20-03, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. Resolution No. 4228 was adopted. 4. AGREEMENT - consider approval of License Agreement No. 322000123 with Bonneville Communications Corporation for the use of a portion of Town-owned property for the placement of fundraising vending machines to benefit charitable organizations commencing on November 22, 2021 and terminating on January 3, 2022, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 5. AGREEMENT – consider adoption of a Resolution approving a One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement with the Arizona Attorney General and certain other Arizona counties, cities, and towns related to the One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. Resolution No. 4229 was adopted. 2 6. CONTRACT – consider approval of Construction Services Contract For Design- Bid-Build (DBB) Project Contract No. 321000441 with Visus Engineering Construction, Inc in an amount not to exceed $705,000 for the Heritage District ADA Improvements, Project No. RD2262, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. Councilmember Yentes stated she wanted to vote on Items 6 and 10 separately as she did not approve of the funding and considered them excessive costs. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Tilque, seconded by Councilmember September, to approve Item 6. Motion carried 5-2, with Councilmembers Hendrix and Yentes casting the dissenting votes. 7. CONTRACT – consider approval and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents of: a) Purchase Contract No. 322000033 with Swift Group LLC for firefighting protective gear to include coats, pants, and hoods; b) Purchase Contract No. 322000080 with United Fire Equipment Company for firefighting protective gear to include boots and hoods; and c) Purchase Contract No. 322000081 with LNCurtis & Sons for firefighting protective gear to include boots. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 8. CONTRACT – consider approval of Task Order No. 29 to Job Order Contract (JOC) Contract No. 319001058 with Sunland Asphalt & Construction, LLC in an amount not to exceed $746,952.36 for Guardtop Seal Coat application services and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 9. CONTRACT – consider approval of Job Order No. 7 to Job Order Contract (JOC) Contract No. 320000232 with MGC Construction, Inc in an amount not to exceed $740,902.25 for Zone 3 – Direct System Well – Waterston Well Exploratory Borehole Drilling, Project No. WA0810, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 10. CONTRACT – consider approval of: a) Project Management/Construction Management (PM/CM) Services Contract for Construction- Manager-At-Risk (CM@R) Project No. 322000119 with Bo Arch, LLC in an amount not to 3 exceed $740,747 for the Municipal Center I Renovations, Project No. MF0530, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents; b) Change order No. 1 to Construction Manager at Risk (CM@R) Construction Services Contract No. 321000419 with Willmeng Construction, Inc. increasing the contract amount by $449,933 for the Municipal Center I Renovations, CIP Project No. MF0530, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents; and c) a Contingency Transfer from the General Replacement Fund in the amount of $996,680. A MOTION was made by Mayor Peterson, seconded by Councilmember Tilque, to approve Item 10. Motion carried 5-2, with Councilmembers Hendrix and Yentes casting the dissenting votes. 11. CONTRACT – consider approval of Project Management/Construction Management (PM/CM) Services Contract for Construction Manager at Risk (CM@R) Project Contract No. 321000136 with Hazen and Sawyer in an amount not to exceed $1,217,228 for the Tankersley Area V project., Project No. WA1320; and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 12. CONTRACT - consider approval of: a) termination of Contract No. 319000080 with CookDZ, LLC for Public Safety Training Facility, Project No. MF0400, effective October 31, 2021, and authorize the Town Engineer to sign those documents necessary to affect such termination; b) termination of Contract No. 319000894 with CookDZ, LLC for Municipal Center I Renovation-Phase II, Project No. MF0530, effective October 31, 2021, and authorize the Town Engineer to sign those documents necessary to affect such termination; c) termination of Contract No. 319000500 with CookDZ, LLC for Comprehensive Needs Assessment Study, Project No. MF2460, effective October 31, 2021, and authorize the Town Engineer to sign those documents necessary to affect such termination; d) termination of Contract No. 321000425 with CookDZ, LLC for EOC Improvements, Project No. MF2527, effective October 31, 2021, and authorize the Town Engineer to sign those documents necessary to affect such termination; e) Professional Consulting Agreement Contract No. 322000128 with Elevated Design Studio, LLC in an amount not to exceed $158,128; to provide transition services assistance on terminated projects, and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents; f) contingency transfer from the General Replacement fund in the amount of $110,690 for Municipal Center I Renovation-Phase II and, Project MF0530; 4 g) contingency transfer from the CIP Contingency fund in the amount of $23,719 for Public Safety Training Facility, Project MF0400; and h) contingency transfer from the CIP Contingency fund in the amount of $23,719 for EOC Improvements, Project MF2527. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 13. CHANGE ORDER – consider approval of Change Order No. 2 to Contract No. 320000248 with Motorola Solutions Inc. increasing the contract amount by $40,720.03 for Fire department mobile radio equipment and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 14. BUDGET – consider approval of a Contingency Transfer in the amount of $70,800 for the claim settlements incurred for the period July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021from: a) the General Fund in the amount of $7,340; b) the Streets Fund in the amount of $6,850; c) the Water Operating Fund in the amount of $21,540; c) the Wastewater Fund in the amount of $40; e) the Environmental Services- Residential Fund in the amount of $10,810; f) the Environmental Services- Commercial Fund in the amount of $23,660; and g) the Fleet Fund in the amount of $560. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 15. BUDGET/ HUMAN RESOURCES – consider approval of: a) a Contingency Transfer from the Workers’ Compensation Fund in the amount of $660,000 for payment to the Workers' Compensation – Municipal Firefighter Cancer Reimbursement Fund; and b) Increase Workers' Compensation rate for sworn Fire employees from $4.17 per hundred dollars of payroll to $8.26 per hundred dollars and authorize the Mayor to execute the required documents. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 5 16. ABANDONMENT S21-03 - consider adoption of a Resolution of abandonment for approximately 7,793 square feet of Public Utility Easement, 993 square feet of Public Water Easement, 610 square feet of Vehicular Non-Access Easement, and 8,463 square feet of Public Utility Ingress-Egress Easement granted in the private roadway tract in the Somerset- Phase 2 Subdivision, located on Reseda Street between Maplewood and Blue Sage. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. Resolution No. 4230 was adopted. 17. FINAL PLAT S21-03 - consider approval of the final plat for Somerset - Phase 2A, located south of Somerset Boulevard and east of Reseda Street, subject to the public easements on Reseda Street being abandoned. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. 18. MINUTES- consider approval of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 19, 2021 and Special Meeting of October 19, 2021. This item was approved with the Consent Calendar vote. PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Peterson opened the public hearing for items 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, & 23A. No one wished to speak, Mayor Peterson closed the public hearing. A MOTION was made by Councilmember September, seconded by Vice Mayor Koprowski, to approve public hearing Items 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, & 23A. Motion carried 7-0. 19. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 10 Beer and Wine Alcohol License for Air Guitar located at 1566 South Higley Road. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. 20. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 12 Restaurant Alcohol License for Fat Willy's Family Sports Bar located at 151 East Williams Field Road, Suite 112. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. 21. LIQUOR LICENSE – conduct hearing and consider approval of a Series 12 Restaurant Alcohol License for Barro's Pizza located at 2080 South Power Road, Suite 104. This item was approved with the Public Hearing Vote. 22. PROPERTY ACQUISITION – conduct hearing and consider adoption of a Resolution approving the purchase cost for acquisition of the required right-of-way and easements for 6 improvements to Parcel No. 304-47-014E, Waterline Tankersley Replacement, Project No. WA1180, in the amount of $92,000. This item was approved with the Public Hearing vote. Resolution No. 4231 was adopted. 23. PROPERTY ACQUISITION – conduct hearing and consider adoption of a Resolution approving the acquisition of right-of-way and required easements for Parcel Nos. 302-22-405, 302-22-406, 302-22-002H, 302-22-002K, 302-22-408, 302-22-409, 310-08-671, 310-08-765, 302-09-516, 302-09-001N, 302-09-515, 302-09-514, 302-09-008A, 302-12-579, 302-12-512, 302-12-093, and 302-12-538 for the McQueen and Guadalupe Intersection, Project No. ST1910 . This item was approved with the Public Hearing vote. Resolution No. 4232 was adopted. 23A. GENERAL PLAN GP21-04 / ZONING Z21-06 AVANTERRA - conduct hearing and consider: a) adoption of a Resolution approving a Minor General Plan amendment to change the land use classification of approx. 10.97 acres generally located south of the southeast corner of Gilbert Rd. and Civic Center Dr. from Residential 3.5 – 5.0 DU/acre to Residential 8.0 – 14.0 DU/acre; and b) approval of the findings and adoption of an Ordinance for Avanterra to rezone approximately 10.97 acres of real property generally located south of the southeast corner of Gilbert Rd. and Civic Center Dr. from Single Family-35 (SF-35) zoning district to Multi-Family/Low (MF/L) zoning district with a Planned Area Development overlay zoning district (PAD). This item was approved with the Public Hearing vote. Resolution No. 4225 and Ordinance No. 2810 were adopted. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 24. COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION - consider acceptance of the Budget Report and Contingency Report for the First Quarter of FY2022. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Yentes, seconded by Vice Mayor Koprowski, to approve Item 24. Motion carried 7-0. 25. BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES - reports from Council Liaisons for the: a) Council Subcommittees b) Ad Hoc Committees c) Regional Meetings d) Industrial Development Authority e) Judicial Selection and Advisory Board f) Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee g) Parks and Recreation Board h) Planning Commission 7 i) Police and Fire Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) Local Pension Boards j) Redevelopment Commission k) Town of Gilbert, AZ Deferred Compensation Trust Board l) Town of Gilbert, AZ Public Facilities Municipal Property Corporation m) Town of Gilbert, AZ Self-Insured Trust Fund Board n) Town of Gilbert, AZ Water Resources Municipal Property Corporation o) Utilities Board p) Veterans Advisory Board There were no reports. POLICY ITEMS 26. POLICY - consider approval of a revision to Council Policy No. 2012-03 regarding a Code of Ethics for members of the Town Council and its Boards, Commissions and Committees. Town Attorney Payne stated the item was added at the request of Councilmembers Anderson, Hendrix and September and clarified that the Code of Ethics were not Town Code, rather Council-Approved Policy. He explained the revision would allow for one or more Councilmembers to agendize any filed Code of Ethics complaints in which an outside investigation was conducted or Town Attorney recommendation given; additionally, an included deadline provision would result in an administrative dismissal of the complaint if no action was taken by the Council within 10 days of filing. Councilmember Anderson stated he was interested in the change due to recent complaints which were externally investigated and discussed at a public meeting, and added a new complaint was since filed regarding essentially the same matter. He said it would be a waste of taxpayer time and money to discuss the same matters again and noted frivolous complaints should be dismissed without having to have been researched and publicly discussed. Councilmember September stated the idea was championed by Councilmember Hendrix and he thought a discussion was merited by the Council. He stated he felt additional modifications could be made, but more importantly, an ethics violation complaint should have merit and meet certain standards to warrant discussion at the dais or a public dialog. Councilmember Yentes asked if other areas of the Town Code specified between “days” and “business days”. Town Attorney Payne confirmed the Town Code did specify between “business days” and “calendar days” in certain areas and offered to add clarifying language to the revision if specified by a motion. He reiterated, the revision would state one or more Councilmembers could add the item to an agenda, which was an exception to the Code, as three Councilmembers or the Mayor could add an item, but that decision was under the purview of the Council. Vice Mayor Koprowski agreed that the Code of Ethics needed review, but requested additional time to do more research and potentially have a Study Session meeting to discuss matters further, allowing them to make multiple revisions at once with consensus amongst the Council. 8 Councilmember Tilque asked how the Council could ask for additional time and research regarding the Code of Ethics revisions. Town Attorney Payne responded that if given additional direction, staff could provide supplemental information either at a Study Session or Town Council Meeting. Councilmember Anderson agreed the Code of Ethics should be reviewed but stressed the time- consuming process of ethics complaints and felt time was of the essence regarding the matter. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked if there was a way to address which complaints would be discussed and which others would not. Town Attorney Payne explained ethic complaints were filed with the Clerk’s Office, the Clerk would send them on to the Town Attorney’s Office, and the Town Attorney would decide to make a recommendation for purely legal issues or refer the matter outside the Town for independent investigation. He expanded on the matter and clarified the way the Code was written was such that neither the staff, Clerk, nor the Attorney’s Office had the discretion to administratively dismiss ethics complaints. He added that the decision to administratively dismiss ethics complaints about Councilmembers should lie exclusively with the Council rather than staff and would require a Code change such as the proposed 10-day deadline for one or more Councilmembers to take action and agendize the item, or not take action resulting in the complaint being administratively dismissed according to policy without the action of staff. Councilmember Hendrix agreed with the statements made and noted the new ethics complaint had to be discussed, regardless of the recommendation from the recent ethics complaint investigation report, if the revisions were not passed. Town Attorney Payne explained a discrepancy in the interpretation of the Code, as Section 7 stated the Clerk may agendize complaints, but Section 8.1 stated Councilmembers would discuss complaints at a Council Meeting but did not include how the complaint would get agendized, leaving the Code open to interpretation. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked for clarification whether the current policy ethics complaints could go straight to Council to determine if they should be dismissed prior to expenditure for investigation, and what happened when the Attorney made recommendations. Town Attorney Payne reported that was not possible under the current Code and would require a code Change, and even with the change, the Attorney’s Office could not administratively dismiss the complaints. He reiterated the Attorney’s Office makes recommendations to the Clerk, the complaint may be agendized by the Clerk, and Council would discuss the matter at a public meeting. Councilmember Hendrix expressed concern that anyone, not just Gilbert residents, had the opportunity to file a complaint and essentially agendize an item regardless of the matter under the current policy. He stated the Town Council meetings were not meetings of the public, rather meetings of the Council in front of the public. Mayor Peterson asked for elaboration regarding how the most recent complaint was interpreted and the dismissal recommendation was determined. Town Clerk Herrera explained, once she 9 received the recommendation she contacted the Council to inquire if three members of the Council wanted to add the item to the agenda, otherwise the Clerk’s Office would accept the Attorney recommendation to dismiss the complaint; however, there was no policy regarding a timeline of when that could be done administratively without input from the Council. Councilmember Yentes commented she was in support of the item to provide clarity to the complaint process while a more robust review of the Code of Ethics was to take place. Councilmember September was in agreeance that the item provided a good patch to the policy, but asked if the motion on the item could include mention of reviewing the entirety of the Code of Ethics in more detail. Mayor Peterson confirmed such a statement could be included in the motion. Town Attorney Payne explained that if the Council wanted to make a motion on the item as it was, or revised, they did not need to include the additional statement of further review of the Code of Ethics in the motion. He advised that Council could give staff direction for questions and information to be presented to Council via a Study Session, Subcommittee, or other means. Mayor Peterson stated her concern was that one Councilmember could add an item on an agenda; noting it was inconsistent with other policies and Code. She added she was not comfortable with the wording of the policy changes and there had not been enough time to review the addendum item. Councilmember Yentes suggested a motion to require a request of three or more Councilmembers or the Mayor to be consistent with Town policy and confirmed with Clerk Herrera that 10-calendar days was most appropriate for an action deadline regarding the policy change. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Yentes, seconded by Councilmember Anderson, to approve Policy No. 2012-03 with the following changes: a 10-calendar day deadline for action by Council, or administrative dismissal of the complaint if no action by Council; and the item may be agendized by three or more Councilmembers or Mayor. Motion carried 7-0. Policy No. 2012-03 was adopted. Town Attorney Payne asked for additional direction for staff feedback and information. Mayor Peterson requested information about how other cities approached the matter and if it was a policy. Councilmember Tilque requested review of the League of Arizona Cities and Town’s ethics trainings for guidance. Vice Mayor Koprowski requested Councilmembers have a period to review the information prior to a draft being agendized. The Council agreed to a Study Session to review information for future policy changes. Councilmember Hendrix asked how the standing complaint was affected by the approval of Item 26. Town Attorney Payne explained the changes were effective as of that moment, but the complaint had been filed prior to the change and was under the previous policy; therefore, three or more Councilmembers would need to contact the Clerk to agendize the item, or the complaint would be administratively dismissed after some time with no response from the Council. 10 FUTURE MEETINGS No discussion. COMMUNICATIONS Report from the TOWN MANAGER on current events. Town Manager Banger shared an announcement from Gilbert Chief of Police, regarding the Public Safety and Veterans: Serving our Community Together event as part of the Get to Know Gilbert PD quarterly series. He added the event would take place on Saturday, November 6, 2021 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am at the Gilbert Public Safety Training Facility and was geared at educating the community about how law enforcement, courts, and providers work together to help veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He shared additional details about the event and encouraged the public to attend. Report from the COUNCIL on current events. There were no reports. Report from the MAYOR on current events. Mayor Peterson noted it was Election Day and thanked all those who voted. She cautioned everyone watching the results and highlighted there were still ballots that would need to be counted. She reported on the Veterans Day Ceremony on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at Gilbert Regional Park, noting the new location. ADJOURN Mayor Peterson adjourned meeting at 7:15 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Brigette Peterson, Mayor Chaveli Herrera, 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 2nd day of November, 2021. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________2021. 11 ___________________________________ Chaveli Herrera, MMC, Town Clerk 12