Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN SPECIAL MEETING, FALL COUNCIL RETREAT – DAY 1 OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021 AT 8:30 AM, SOUTHEAST REGIONAL LIBRARY, 775 N. GREENFIELD 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, Town Attorney Christopher Payne, Volunteer and Community Resources Manager Melanie Dykstra, Assistant Town Manager Leah Hubbard-Rhineheimer, Assistant Public Works Director Eric Braun, Office of Management and Budget Director Kelly Pfost, Development Services Director Kyle Mieras, Police Chief Michael Soelberg, Chief People Officer Nathan Williams, and Assistant to the Town Manager Nikki McCarty AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. 2019 Community Needs Assessment Update and Community Engagement Task Force. Volunteer and Community Resources Manager Dykstra presented on the 2019 Community Needs Assessment and discussed the priority populations that were identified, 10 focus areas, and action items. She spoke of the 12 primary recommendations, 58 secondary recommendations, and 13 tertiary recommendations. She noted some of the priorities would be overseen by community and nonprofit organizations, not the Town of Gilbert. She noted the common themes included access to mental, behavioral, and substance abuse health care. She outlined partnerships, noting the combining of nonprofit groups would help to provide needed services and move the needle toward solutions. She discussed education and awareness including suicide initiatives, domestic violence awareness, and development and sharing of resources. She also highlighted transportation access including ride-sharing services, volunteerism, ongoing partnerships, and enhanced experiences of culturally diverse individuals. Lastly, she talked about next steps and opportunities, volunteer engagement and workshops, additional partnerships to bridge gaps in services and resources, a resource fair, and youth mental health collective. 1 Councilmember Tilque provided an update on the Community Engagement Task Force. She talked about “the why” and provided background on the item, stating the goal was bringing community together and a sense of belonging. She outlined the mission and values being considered and discussed the importance of unifying, asking how can the group make a difference in the community and reach out beyond the circle around them. She discussed the importance of being educated about issues and the importance of connection, knowing how to help others, and being able to see the signs. Assistant Town Manager Hubbard-Rhineheimer detailed the Council-prioritized focus topics: domestic violence, mental health and suicide prevention, homelessness and low-income challenges, human and sex trafficking and diversity, equity and inclusion. She detailed the Task Force framework regarding appointees, member criteria, service requirements, scope of authority, length of terms, and public meetings. She reviewed the recommended Task Force’s objectives and discussed the robust engagement process with outreach and recruitment. She outlined the proposed timeline for the next steps. Councilmember Anderson asked if they were comfortable with the safeguards built in that the Task Force would not be a single vision. Councilmember Tilque stated that was one of the questions that took the longest to get through, looking at recruitment of members who would have an interest in each bucket and representing each one of them, as to not being singly focused. Vice Mayor Koprowski spoke of forming the diverse board, suggesting a modification of the application to include information on what activities and communities they were involved in to help ensure a diverse board was appointed. Councilmember Tilque affirmed the desire was to include a willingness to serve all focus areas. Mayor Peterson agreed with the want to look for diverse groups but noted the challenge of putting into writing what they were looking for in appointees with specific backgrounds, comparing it to putting a puzzle together. She said nine appointees was ambitious but manageable. Assistant Town Manager Hubbard-Rhineheimer asked for a “green light” to move forward with activation and the application process; the Council spoke in support. She outlined the requests of the Council to include being thoughtful in the recruitment and application process, clear on scope and expectations, not concentrated on one area, and to bring recommendations back to the Council. 2. Utility Rate Study. Assistant Public Works Director Eric Braun gave a presentation and discussed the background of utility rates. He discussed the Water Fund and impacts to balances, the meter base fee, and the volume rate for Residential tiers, Non-Residential, landscape rates, and hydrants. He discussed the Residential bills comparison to other municipalities, and Non-Residential bill impacts. 2 Vice Mayor Koprowski asked if there was risk that property owners and businesses would not take care of their landscaping due to the cost increase. Assistant Public Works Director Braun stated he did not see that as a concern for large landscape users; adding there was a lot of room to conserve water and still maintain their landscape, noting their significant investment and the high expense of trees and landscaping. He discussed the incentive to reevaluate landscaping due to costs. Assistant Public Works Director Braun discussed the Environmental Services rate pressures and provided an overview of the Environmental Services touchpoints. He talked about the discussion to increase recycle fees, the ultimate decision to look at how to decrease costs, and about the recycling pilot program. He outlined the Environmental Services Residential Fund impacts and the monthly fees. Mayor Peterson asked if people chose to do manure collection would they receive another type of barrel. Assistant Public Works Director Braun said they were looking at options of different barrels and/or lids. Mayor Peterson suggested a different color and different quality, due to the heavy weight and composition. Assistant Public Works Director Braun discussed and detailed proposed one-time fees and discussed how the Town could verify missing cans. He said the idea of charging one-time fees was to change behaviors. He discussed fees for extra services, like additional cans for block parties and noted broken containers would be replaced for free. He discussed appliances, scheduling pickups, bulk pickup, and a proposed bulk special pickup flat rate of $100, versus a rate charged in 15-minute increments. Councilmember Tilque asked for resident education in advance regarding new charges, instead of having a fee go into place without announcing the initiative ahead of time. She also discussed bulk trash and announcing it two or three weeks ahead. She asked if it was a Homeowner’s Association (HOA)issue, noting regardless some education should occur first including information on appliances, dos and don’ts, and what would save them money. Mayor Peters discussed the option of using the dump, how people utilize bulk, and how things were being put on the curb. There was discussion on education of how and where to dispose of certain items. Councilmember Anderson asked if it was believed the cost of bulk collection would keep rising. Assistant Public Works Director Braun said it was hard to predict and discussed how many of the bulk items end up in the black bins, how the volume was the same but dispersed differently, and other inefficiencies. Councilmember Anderson asked if there were any private companies that collect bulk. Assistant Public Works Director Braun replied yes, that landscape companies would do cleanups and hauls. Councilmember Tilque said that topic would be something of interest to people and how larger items could be disposed of, to have a resource for those items. Mayor Peterson talked about those types of requests being on social media and that private companies were doing that. 3 Assistant Public Works Director Braun showed a graph of included services across other municipalities, from higher to lower costs that included the proposed rate increases for Environmental Services – Residential. He provided a comparison of Residential utility bills with all utilities included in actual number comparisons with benchmark cities and discussed what customers could expect with services. Mayor Peterson discussed her own bill and usage and compared it to larger families’ bills with actual cost numbers for perspective. Assistant Public Works Director Braun provided information on Environmental Services – Commercial, noting if nothing was changed, the Town would fall below that minimum fund balance by the end of the fiscal year. He outlined the Commercial container rates and the fleet of different options for Commercial users, noting in most cases they had the option to use a private sector. Mayor Peterson discussed multi-family communities, noting many use the front loads, and asked if they were considered Residential when it came to using services. Assistant Public Works Director Braun stated those cases would be considered Commercial. Councilmember Tilque stated she believed multi-family areas were considered Residential when it came to requiring Town service, but perhaps Commercial in terms of pricing. Assistant Town Manager Hubbard-Rhineheimer stated that multi-family were not required to use Town services. Councilmember Tilque stated the Town should be business-minded on that subject, as the Town could lose clients if charging too much or the services were not as good as other companies, adding it could impact the Town’s ability to fund trucks and other things. Councilmember Anderson discussed comparing all rates to private companies to ensure the Town was competitive, noting there was often a call to privatize trash collection. Mayor Peterson said past comparisons showed the Town way under the cost for all the services provided. Assistant Public Works Director Braun discussed Roll Off Rates for hauls and detailed aligning disposal costs. He said the Town currently did not charge to drop off, but a $35 fee was being proposed to incorporate that cost. He discussed manure and cardboard collection, Vice Mayor Koprowski asked about cardboard collection and if fee could apply to residents as well, adding homeowners could not order a roll off and asked if cardboard service was only provided to businesses that have it a regular basis or if there was a one-off that residents could use as well. Assistant Town Manager Hubbard-Rhineheimer stated residents could utilize the bulk trash method. Vice Mayor Koprowski noted if residents used the bulk trash method the cardboard would not be recycled, to which Assistant Town Manager Hubbard-Rhineheimer confirmed that was true currently. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked about incorporating the $35 cardboard collection fee would be made available to residents as a one-time service with cardboard. There was discussion on how large deliveries and renovations may need those services. Mayor Peterson and Vice Mayor Koprowski discussed an option of offering a move-in service or an alternative option that was not as personalized. Assistant Public Works Director Braun said they could look into options. 4 Assistant Public Works Director Braun discuss public outreach including bill stuffers, a Notice of Intent, open houses and newspaper notices. He discussed next step: in November, Council 1:1 meetings, finalizing the rate study, and updates to the rate pages and calculator; in December, a Notice of Intent at a Council meeting and to publish a rate study; in January, hosting two open houses and publishing newspaper notices; in February 2022, the Council’s consideration of rates; and having the rates effective on April 1, 2022. Assistant Public Works Director Braun asked when the Council would like staff to come back with rate studies. Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost discussed rate studies. Mayor Peterson recommended every other year at the Financial Retreat. Councilmember Tilque spoke in agreement and asked about impacts to 5-year projections. Assistant Public Works Director Braun discussed looking out five years. Vice Mayor Koprowski said waiting 10 years was too long but every other year seems too short, adding three to five years seemed more reasonable and cost-effective in order to see impacts to residents. Councilmember Tilque asked about increasing every third year. Assistant Town Manager Hubbard-Rhineheimer said the intent was to review them timelier, not necessarily meaning there was a proposed change. Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost discussed the process. Vice Mayor Koprowski stated from a policy perspective Gilbert should potentially implement rate changes in a manner that was every 5 years or less, but the review could happen as often as it made sense. Councilmember Tilque asked how it was being paid. Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost talked about Enterprise Funds being self-efficient and user fees which paid for cost of service. Councilmember Anderson said it should be reviewed every year or so. Councilmember September agreed with a more frequent review and said he liked Chandler’s process. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked if it was an option to mirror Chandler, to which Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost stated not right now but in the future. Mayor Peterson discussed reviewing every year but to go forward with what was suggested now. Councilmember Anderson said not to go more than five years before implementing. 3. Training – Open Meeting Law, Conflicts of Interest, Public Records, Electronic, Equipment and Services, Code of Ethics. Town Clerk Herrera provided training on Open Meeting Law, conflicts of interest, public records, electronic equipment and services, and Code of Ethics for public bodies. She noted the training was required for board and commission members. She provided a reference from Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) on Public Open Meeting Law in Title 38, including the posting of agendas and minutes, adding that it applied to all public bodies and discussed quorums. She summarized private meetings or executive sessions, but noted that there were only specific allowable circumstances for executive sessions. She summarized what was considered a public body and noted that it included anyone appointed to a board by a public body. Town Attorney Payne stated the Attorney General issued an opinion about the school board case that confirmed that Open Meeting Law did apply to any subcommittee or task force that would come back with recommendations to a public body. Town Clerk Herrera discussed what was considered a meeting and reviewed pitfalls of Open Meeting Law including serial meetings, email and social media violations, and attending other 5 boards’ meetings. She noted that a quorum of one board at another board’s meeting without an agenda would be a violation. She reviewed the legal requirements for the posting of agendas and minutes. Town Attorney Payne discussed the rare instances of an actual emergency that would not require the 24-hour posting notice period, such as large-scale flooding or imminent threat to health and safety. Town Clerk Herrera highlighted Executive Sessions pursuant to ARS § 38.431.03, noting they were confidential and recordings were not permitted. She noted only those in attendance could view those minutes. Mayor Peterson asked questions regarding access to Executive Session minutes. Town Attorney Payne gave examples of those permitted to see Executive Session minutes and noted it would require a court order to release the Executive Session minutes to the public. At the request of Councilmember Anderson, Town Attorney Payne outlined the nine matters permissible to have an Executive Session per ARS 38-431.03; noting the new matters included school safety operations and critical infrastructure. Town Clerk Herrera discussed the processes and penalties regarding violations for Open Meeting Law and conflicts of interest. She discussed the protocols for identifying and disclosing a conflict of interest and violations. Town Attorney Payne noted a past issue when a board or commission member declared a conflict, stepped aside as a member, but then wanted to speak on the matter as a citizen. He said that person filed a complaint that his rights as a citizen were violated, but the Attorney General determined there was no violation. Town Attorney Payne stated that as a board or commission member, you have given up your 1st Amendment right to speak on issues where you have a conflict of interest, noting you can resign and then have full rights to speak on the matter. Town Clerk Herrera discussed what was considered a public record, summarized various formats and types of public records, noting all were subject to disclosure. She outlined the importance of the Code of Ethics, summarized the gift policy, and reviewed procedures for enforcing ethical standards. Lastly, Town Clerk Herrera reviewed the electronic equipment policy and noted the required compliance of procedures and the preservation and retention of records. Councilmember Tilque noted the orientation for Councilmembers was important. Mayor Peterson asked if the Resolution of Civility was part of the training. Town Clerk Herrera noted the Resolution was noted in the training and on the website but it could be added to the handbook. Mayor Peterson asked if new employees also received the Resolution of Civility, since it applied to staff as well. Chief People Officer Williams said it was not currently part of employee orientation. Mayor Peterson and Town Clerk Herrera discussed the format and time requirements for Open Meeting Law Training online and upcoming changes. 4. Shade and Streetscape Master Plan. Development Services Director Mieras introduced Justin Azevedo, Project Manager of the Design Laboratory. Mr. Azevedo discussed existing conditions, projected shade coverage of existing trees, and what would happen with the growth of the trees. He discussed efforts for trees maintenance and repair on social media and the goal of 30% shade structure in Gilbert, 6 recognizing the differences in densities throughout Gilbert. He discussed the right tree, right place, and right shade concept and different types of trees. He noted the sissoo and ash species of trees would be phased out. He reviewed shade structures and panel orientations to show what were possibilities of increasing shade coverage throughout Town including heat map considerations and priority selections. He noted Gilbert was a Tree City, USA and spoke of their requirements, including a new tree board or tree department and the adoption of a tree care ordinance. He said there would likely be a subcommittee added from the Parks and Recreation Board for the tree board. He discussed next steps including finalizing a draft plan, developing a tree board, and the tree maintenance ordinance. Councilmember Anderson asked if tree maintenance could be added to the Town Code. Development Services Director Mieras stated it was possible to add; noting the process of taking it to the Planning Commission to accept the plan, with a plan that was more living and flexible for needed changes; and stating it would go to Parks and Recreation Board soon, then brought to the Council at the December 14, 2021 Council meeting. Vice Mayor Koprowski discussed the example provided in the presentation of Freestone Park and suggested all parks having a consistent goal, with subtraction for areas such as fields that could not have trees added. She discussed the typology of trees proposed, adding they seemed like absolute minimums and were not in line with the engineering standards. She suggested adding alignment and recommended dimensions. She said she had a concern about the cool hubs not being in places people would want to be, asking for them to be more thoughtful in their placements and to align them with Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects, not just checking boxes, but to make the best connection with implementation. Councilmember Tilque spoke of her experience working with Parks and Recreation for the Gilbert Sister Cities Gardens and said they did not want Palo Verde and Mesquite trees because they blow down during monsoon seasons. Mr. Azevedo discussed the positives and challenges with those trees, but said they are damaged due to overwatering, so they want to include in a maintenance guide to not overwater, noting those trees were part of the vernacular in the area. Councilmember Tilque discussed their pros and cons when those decisions were made, noting water conservation was important and to consider the educational perspective of that, noting how it may look to ask the public to conserve water while adding trees. She spoke of the upcoming ordinance and agreed the Parks and Recreation Board should take on the tree board. Vice Mayor Koprowski requested a reference guide or page to be incorporated. Mayor Peterson agreed to add a reference that was easy to find. Development Services Director Mieras spoke of prior discussions with the public on the subject. Councilmember September noted the tree maintenance ordinance should not stifle property rights. Mr. Azevedo stated the ordinances were consistent with Tree City, USA. 5. Police Department Major Projects – Advocacy Center and Crime Lab. Police Chief Soelberg provided a summary on the advocacy center and crime lab, CIP Project No. MF2490, noting the advocacy center included multi-disciplinary teams and the goal was to 7 be streamlined so victims would not have to retell their experiences multiple times. He said it would be victim-focused and included collaboration for interviews, treatment, management, and prosecution. He noted cases included sex crimes, child and adult abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence. He noted Gensler Architecture Firm was hired for the design and highlighted the project goals. He highlighted Arizona’s advocacy centers best practices for client and employee experience, facility, and operational resources to focus on client/victim experiences. He noted a 25.2% increase in the annual contract amount with City of Mesa and other potential partnerships. He discussed the design and footprint of the advocacy center, as well as the final completion estimate of March-April 2025. He provided the budget update estimate of $24,296,039 and estimated square feet of 26,666, noting it was very preliminary. He said his ask was to allocate the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, noting the funding available was $24,070,000, $1,200,000 was for designated for non-profits, and $6,082,000 was available for designation. CM Tilque stated she was concerned with 25% increase. Mayor Peterson discussed the need for more information and options. 8 6. National and Local Labor Factors and the Impacts on Gilbert. Chief People Officer Williams discussed labor factors across the United States and its job market, including the labor shortage and supply chain issues. He discussed possible reasons for the labor shortage and noted a reassessment of work in America and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in regard to work. He discussed what employees were now looking for including flexibility, changes in workplace culture to a more casual workplace, and the idea of working to live instead of living to work. He discussed key challenges in recruitment including hiring incentives in neighboring communities, flexibility of work in some private sectors, and commute and/or availability of housing. He showed average years of service in the Gilbert Police and Fire Departments, adding the Town-wide turnover was 12% and the normal annual turnover was 10%. He said that a 2% increase would not normally be extreme, but with the hiring issues, it did cause an impact. He noted a “jobs of the future” focus and the need to be more competitive. Vice Mayor Koprowski stated it was good to keep an open mind and be flexible to workers, then asked how the Town was engaging employees. Chief People Officer Williams stated twice a year an employee engagement survey was done, and the purpose was not only to gain data, but to use the data. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked how the Town was addressing onboarding and helping hybrid employees feel like they are part of the organization. Chief People Officer Williams highlighted efforts on engagement. 7. Performance Management and City of the Future Metrics Update. Town Manager Banger discussed Gilbert’s City of the Future initiative, stating it was a focused effort of long-term sustainability and quality of life. He summarized the three pillars of Strong Economy, Prosperous Community, and Exceptional Built Government with the areas of focus under each pillar. He discussed Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) based on needs and how the organization prioritized them each fiscal year. Assistant to the Town Manger Nikki McCarty detailed the performance management program and monitoring the progress of the City of the Future initiative. She said the performance-based Leadership Strategy was not new to Gilbert and was used in other areas of the Town. She said the next steps were to collect the real time data and have a visual analysis to see the trends using dashboards. She said the last step was to hold ongoing meetings to make sure the objectives were being met. She reviewed performance-based program benefits and spoke of data governance strategy. Town Manager Banger discussed the leadership strategy, stating the Mayor and Council initiated priorities. He spoke of concurrent implementation and said a Chief Performance Officer (CPO) would oversee all aspects of the program and discussed efforts to expand that role to analyze data. He stated efforts would include the Information Technology and Digital Governance Departments to use digital storytelling and data stories to help residents understand what their government was focused on. He said commitment from leadership across the organization was 9 needed and noted in Fiscal Year 2022 Police, Fire and Rescue, and Safety would initially participate in that WIG, with other departments to participate in future years. Assistant to the Town Manger Nikki McCarty discussed City of the Future Metrics and highlighted progress. She said there were 101 metrics across the three pillars. She said the team would update metrics, revisit targets, review data sources, identify vital signs, and prepare for dashboards. She discussed a scenario of water quality being low and the reasons why that occurred. She summarized another scenario with environmental services. She highlighted some of the metrics under each of the three pillars and whether they were met, on-track, or not met. She summarized vital signs such as median household income, unemployment rates, and homelessness. Lastly, she highlighted next steps of monitoring metrics, goal setting, and ongoing improvements. Town Manager Banger discussed the need for information that residents could easily digest and understand. He noted the need to not set goals that the Town believed it could achieve, but rather to set goals that were needed. Vice Mayor Koprowski stated she was a believer of data-driven decisions and performance management, and spoke of how not everything would be met and there would be challenges. She said there was a need to tell those stories to the public so that they would understand those challenges. She noted one item not touched on would be having a few metrics on comparisons to peer communities, and regional and State data. Town Manager Banger stated there is a performance benchmark report that tracked 83 benchmarks and other sources. Councilmember Anderson stated the initiative was as important as the General Plan and to keep doing the work. Assistant to the Town Manager McCarty discussed how benchmarks were set and how the target was determined. Councilmember Tilque stated she appreciated the efforts and asked how the data was used. She said it seemed it was still in the development stage, adding it was a lot of data and wanted to make sure it was understood. Town Manager Banger stated approaching data-driven governance was a fundamental shift and talked about past efforts which were now shifting to using dashboards in real time. Mayor Peterson thanked everyone and said starting with Public Works was a huge thing to tackle. Assistant to the Town Manager McCarty discussed their efforts and department engagement. Mayor Peterson advocated for communicating what the City of the Future meant and to define it better for understanding. ADJOURN Town Manager Banger thanked all those who presented or participated and noted Day 2 of the Retreat the following day. Mayor Peterson adjourned meeting at 3:28 p.m. 10  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 special meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Gilbert held on the 8th 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 ____________________. ___________________________________ Chaveli Herrera, MMC, Town Clerk 11