Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN SPECIAL MEETING OF MONDAY, MAY 8, 2023 AT 3:00 PM, MUNICIPAL BUILDING I, HERITAGE ROOM 300, 50 E. CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Brigette Peterson, Vice Mayor Kathy Tilque, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Chuck Bongiovanni, Bobbi Buchli, Yung Koprowski, and Jim Torgeson COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera, Deputy Clerk Judy Martinez, Town Attorney Christopher Payne, Assistant Town Attorney Alena Jorquez, Volunteer and Community Resources Manager Melanie Dykstra, Office of Management and Budget Director Kelly Pfost, Financial Services Officer Tanya Wright, Engineer Right-of-Way Manager Justin Isner, Planning Manager Eva Cutro, Public Works Director Jessica Marlow, Economic Development Director Dan Henderson, Intergovernmental Relations Director Rob Bohr, Chief Technology Officer Sasan Poureetezadi, Assistant Town Manager Mary Goodman, Parks and Recreation Director Robert Carmona, Assistant Town Attorney II Amanda Jenkins, Assistant Police Chief James Bisceglie, and Assistant Town Manager Leah Rhineheimer AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. 1 ROLL CALL Town Clerk Herrera verified a quorum was present. PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Peterson opened the public hearing. No one wished to speak and Mayor Peterson closed the public hearing. Town Attorney Payne stated that the meeting was regarding different topics of the Town Code; staff wished to get direction from Council on possible revisions. He said the items were done as public hearing items, rather than in Study Session, in order to solicit public comment if requested. There was no public comment requested. 1. Discussion and review of current Town Council Policies and possible direction on proposed changes or repeal Town Attorney Payne stated this endeavor was a project the Town Attorney’s Office started over one year ago, noting many policies had been repealed or rescinded. He provided background for the Council stating there was Town Code, or basically the Town law. He said changes to Town Code were done through Ordinances, with the exception for Zoning Ordinances. He reiterated that Ordinances were Town laws, and the public had the right to provide input on the items. He said they took effect 30 days after the adoption date, with the exception being emergency clauses. He said policies were different and were not binding; therefore, they were easier to amend. He said policy changes still had to be approved by the Council but did not take 30 days to become effective and did not require the public hearing/input process. He said the Council had adopted around 150 policies but many were rescinded or superseded by other laws. He noted there was not a repository of Council policies that were searchable. He reiterated that most of the policies were recommended to be repealed because they were superseded by Town Code or human resources policies, but said some were recommended for updates. He asked the Council to consider if the policies that were recommended to remain should stay policies or be codified, 2 which would make them binding law in the Town. He said a benefit to codifying them would be that it had notice requirements and would not demand that someone had to look for them in multiple places. He said with whatever policies were recommended to keep as policies, they would be linked on the website and easy to find and review. Councilmember Bongiovanni asked if Town Attorney Payne would be noting his recommendations for which ones should be codified; Town Attorney Payne affirmed, adding policies could be turned into ordinances and added to a Council agenda in the public hearing section to be considered. Policies recommended for repeal Vice Mayor Tilque stated she wished to speed the process along and would recommend to repeal any of the policies that the Council agreed upon for repeal in one motion, then take a look at the remaining policies to see if they were better suited elsewhere, such as in the Town Code, Code of Conduct or other places versus a policy. Mayor Peterson noted the Council would not be voting during that meeting, instead the Council would be giving direction to Town Attorney Payne. She agreed if the direction was to bring those forward to a Council meeting for repeal, those could be skipped during the present meeting. Vice Mayor Tilque agreed to bring those policies recommended for repeal forward to a future Council meeting for vote. Mayor Peterson asked the Council if they were agreeable to all of the policies recommended for repeal, or if the Councilmembers wanted to discuss any. Councilmember Koprowski asked about Policy No. 1997-06 and a comment on the list that requirement to review annually had lapsed. Mayor Peterson stated that they did not have that zoning category any longer so it was not applicable. Assistant Town Attorney Jorquez stated the comment about the requirement lapsing was made for her own notes. Councilmember Koprowski stated she wanted clarification on that, but she was agreeable to the repeal of the others. 3 Mayor Peterson asked for consensus that all policy items marked on their list for repeal move forward to future agenda item; the Council agreed. Town Attorney Payne stated it could be done as one item in the Policy section of a future agenda. Councilmember Torgeson arrived at 3:18 p.m. Mayor Peterson updated Councilmember Torgeson on the decision to move all of the suggested repeal items forward to a future Council meeting for vote and asked if he had concerns; Councilmember Torgeson did not have concerns. Policies recommended for further review Town Attorney Payne began reviewing the other policies by department: Budget – Policy No. 1979-01 – Guidelines for Financial Assistance Volunteer and Community Resources Manager Dykstra reviewed the policy, noting it was not something she was aware of previously. She said they had been following the majority of it, and it mimicked Neighbor 2 Neighbor Policy No. 2013-02. She said it recommended that the participants were a 501-C3, but it was actually required. Her recommendation was that it was not codified but was merged with the other policy and addressed as a whole. Vice Mayor Tilque stated she had no required changes; she asked why it needed to be a policy and where else it could be, adding policies should be limited. Manager Dykstra discussed making it an administrative regular, noting when it was part of the Neighbor 2 Neighbor program, it was a very limited fund and they made that aware. Vice Mayor Tilque stated the Neighbor 2 Neighbor policy should be updated to the current process, but asked if it should it be a policy or could it be a financial policy or administrative guideline. 4 Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost replied she would not recommend combining it with financial policies, noting it was more detailed than what was normally included. Town Attorney Payne stated a policy was more of a guideline and there could be some exceptions granted. Manger Dykstra discussed the slight differences between the policies. She said she believed there were some administrative rules within the Town, like the use of Town property. Councilmember Koprowski asked if the policy covered other instances where donations came into Town outside of Neighbor 2 Neighbor; Manager Dykstra stated this policy did not, it was Neighbor 2 Neighbor specific. Councilmember Koprowski asked if they could be incorporated. Town Manager Banger stated that administrative rules were internal and this did not necessarily fit well. Councilmember Koprowski stated she felt it should remain a policy. Mayor Peterson asked if policies were easier to modify; Town Attorney Payne stated they were about the same, that both required a vote of the Council, but administratively Code changes required additional steps. Town Clerk Herrera stated there were additional positing and publishing requirements for Code of Gilbert changes. Vice Mayor Tilque stated when processes changed, she hoped they were being reviewed and checked for consistency with state laws and other changes. Town Attorney Payne stated they did update any changes with Town Code appropriately, but they had not done so with policies, but would now, as they would be in one place. 5 The consensus was for Policy No. 1979-01 to be repealed and the Neighbor 2 Neighbor policy be updated. Financial Services Officer Wright discussed requirements for funds from other entities and concerns about duplicating efforts. Budget – Policy No. 2020-02 – Policies of Responsible Financial Management Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost stated it was updated annually; there were no additional comments. Development Services – Policy No. 1963-04 – Irrigation Districts Tiled Engineer Right-of-Way Manager Isner said it was a seven word policy that stated, “All new irrigation districts would be tiled.” Assistant Town Attorney Jorquez stated that Development Engineer Manager Tom Condit agreed with this policy, though he was unsure how consistently it was being implemented. Mayor Peterson asked if it should be codified. Attorney Jorquez stated it was not part of the Land Development Code (LDC) or the Code of Gilbert. Manager Isner stated the definitions were in the Code, but not the requirements. Mayor Peterson and Planning Manager Cutro agreed it could be codified in the Code of Gilbert. Councilmember Koprowski discussed if current irrigation districts had to get tiled. Town Attorney Payne stated that it specified that new ditches got tiled. Public Works Director Marlow stated she did not believe it was in the design standards, that it was done on a case-by-case basis. There was discussion if districts changed hands or merged. The consensus was to have Public Works amend the language for it to be codified in Town Code. 6 Development Services – Policy No. 1982-03 – Improvements to Prior Developed Property Vice Mayor Tilque stated she thought this policy should be codified. Planning Manager Cutro stated it could be included in the LDC update which would be coming to the Council shortly; Attorney Payne agreed. Development Services – Policy No. 1993-03 – Side Yard Setback Requirements Planning Manager Cutro spoke about the policy stating it noted to not give side yard deviation unless it was a unique circumstance, adding they did with all cases unless there was a historical reason. Mayor Peterson stated it should be with the LDC. Councilmember Anderson spoke of the history of policy and how it was created in response to conditions like air conditioners in side yards. Planning Manager Cutro stated it would be applicable only if they thought treating side yard setbacks in single family homes should be different than others. Mayor Peterson and Vice Mayor Tilque agreed that it should be repealed. Development Services – Policy No. 1998-03- Voluntary Annexation of Residential Developments Planning Manager Cutro stated it was not addressed in the LDC but adhered to, noting staff walked through the process and that all annexations were brought to the Council. She said she did not know that the policy added much but it was more detailed than what was in the LDC. 7 Mayor Peterson and Vice Mayor Tilque stated it could be repealed. Councilmember Koprowski stated it was specific though, adding it would give people confidence if they were living in an annexed area. Planning Manager Cutro asked if these specifications were in statute; Town Attorney Payne stated he was not sure but his concern was with formerly county island residents who were being annexed and then with neighbors complaining about having different services than neighbors. Councilmember Torgeson discussed how those who wanted to be annexed had to pay for the sewer to be brought to them. Attorney Jorquez stated she believed that was preempted in 2014. Mayor Peterson discussed how some neighborhoods did not want the same services, such as streetlights and how a policy could require those things. Town Attorney Payne agreed and asked who would have to pay in those cases. Mayor Peterson said it was fine to repeal, as it was covered in other sections. There was discussion on policies for roads with Public Works, who would be responsible for improvements, and what would happen when areas passed the improvement stage. Councilmember Koprowski asked if there could be a mechanism created for when a place was annexed and they chose to pay for the upgrade, the amount could be collected for an improvement. Public Works Director Marlow stated there was a process for creation of an improvement district, adding it was a State process the neighbors had to initiate it. Councilmember Anderson stated this policy was done for something specific and could be repealed. 8 Planning Manager Cutro stated it could be added or repeal, noting that she was not comfortable adding things that were over and above State law. Mayor Peterson confirmed the consensus was to repeal. Economic Development– Policy No. 2002-02 – Economic Development Confidentiality Vice Mayor Tilque stated it could be in the Council Code of Conduct. Town Attorney Payne asked Economic Development Director Henderson if he had any concerns with that; he did not. Finance – Policy No. 2016-05 – Local Business Opportunity Vice Mayor Tilque noted it was part of procurement policy already in place. Mayor Peterson noted that it also referred to organizations that no longer existed and she was fine with repealing it. Town Attorney Payne stated it was also intended to be a one-year pilot. Councilmember Koprowski stated other cities, like Mesa, had a qualified vendor list and gave extra points to those whose headquarters were in the city, asking if that could that be of interest to look at for Gilbert. Vice Mayor Tilque stated she would be in support of that but was previously told they could not allow that. The consensus was to repeal. Intergovernmental Relations – Policy No. 2009-03 –Mayoral Portrait Policy and Gallery There was discussion on the history of the oil painting. The consensus was to repeal. Intergovernmental Relations – Policy No. 2010-02 – Council Support Costs 9 There was discussion on if it could be in the Councilmember handbook or part of personnel policies. Mayor Peterson suggested to do a review of it regularly, such as when the Intergovernmental Relations Department did their zero-based budgeting. Financial Services Officer Wright discussed the administrative procedures in place that the Council could be included in that as well. Councilmember Koprowski noted it made sense to tie it with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and their traveling rate per mile. Intergovernmental Relations Director Bohr asked if they updated the administrative rules and noted that it included elected officials would that cover it. Financial Services Officer Wright said the administrative guidelines and travel procedures included elected officials. Mayor Peterson stated it was better to do with personnel rules and including with onboarding procedures for the Council. Office of Management and Budget Director Pfost stated it could be added as a separate section to the financial policies. Town Manager Banger agreed it could be a separate section in the financial policies with a clean separation with employees and elected officials. Town Attorney Payne agreed, noting most things were approved by the Town Manager but the Council was different. Mayor Peterson stated that it often fell through the cracks and asked what step would make it easier for staff to include for the Council. Councilmember Torgeson stated that each type of position could have a profile. Director Bohr stated it could be part of new Councilmember onboarding and added to a checklist for them. Mayor Peterson asked that this policy be updated and moved to policies and financial management, then included in the orientation handbook. 10 Information Technology- Policy No. 2012-05 – Electronic Equipment and Services for Elected Officials and Boards, Commissions, and Committees Chief Technology Officer Poureetezadi said he recommended an update on the document to include a focus on loss prevention, privacy and security, and changes in technology. He said he could see it coming through in a Study Session or Executive Session. Mayor Peterson said she believed everyone should have a separate work phone and would love to see the policy brought back to be modified. Assistant Town Manager Goodman stated it would likely come forward in Executive Session, as it addressed cyber security first. Mayor Peterson said it should come back as an updated policy since it had to do with equipment. Parks and Recreation - Policy No. 2014-03 – Naming, Renaming, and Memorial Policy Town Attorney Payne said Parks was not recommending any updates to the criteria shown. He asked if it could be moved somewhere else, codified, or left a policy. Councilmember Koprowski said the criteria seemed more like guidelines you would want to have some considerations with; to codify it, it would need to be more clearly defined. Intergovernmental Relations Director Bohr stated there were no recommendations to update the policy. Town Attorney Payne stated the policy would be kept in place as is. Parks and Recreation - Policy No. 2014-04 – Rental of Town Property by Private Entities 11 Town Attorney Payne asked if there were any recommendation for updates to this policy. Assistant Town Attorney II Jenkins suggested to change the verbiage in the Purpose section of the policy stating the sentence, “It is expressly the intent of the Town Council that no use of Town property or buildings pursuant to this policy shall create a public forum for the dissemination, debate or discussion of public issues,” could seem discriminatory based on the first amendment. Town Attorney Payne discussed the differences between a public forum and a limited public forum. He said this would be kept as a policy and updates would be brought to the Council. He asked Parks and Recreation Director Carmona about the fee schedule; Director Carmona responded they had some adjustments. Mayor Peterson mentioned to include something which stated that selling raffle tickets was not allowed due to state law and not because of Town regulations, and asked that the policy be made clearer. Parks and Recreation - Policy No. 2014-05 – Use of Banner Poles on Gilbert Road Mayor Peterson asked why this was not with LDC for signage. Vice Mayor Tilque stated she believed this could be part of the application process with Parks; she did not think it needed to be a policy and suggested to repeal it. Councilmember Koprowski stated the reason this was a policy was because it provided the exception, since this type of banner was not allowed anywhere else in the Town. Mayor Peterson stated it could be included with the Heritage District guidelines and did not think it needed to be a policy. Town Attorney Payne discussed the authorized uses and priority of different entities that could hang banners. He said it would need to be written somewhere what the Council formally approved; otherwise, it could put the Town in a difficult position to say no. 12 Vice Mayor Tilque suggested defining signs in Town Code under the Heritage District instead of Gilbert Road, and to define the fee schedule under Parks. Director Carmona said he would work with Development Services and bring updates to the Council. Parks and Recreation - Policy No. 2014-09 – Weapons in Public Buildings Vice Mayor Tilque spoke of an example from a safety training she attended regarding incidents where multiple people had guns; she asked Assistant Police Chief Bisceglie if he had any recommendations. Assistant Police Chief Bisceglie said to trust their guidance in terms of Council meetings and discussed different scenarios. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed statute, noting the Town had storage lockers and allowed guns in the building without metal detectors. Mayor Peterson discussed how different Town-owned buildings had different rules such as the Police Department, Courts, and Town Hall. She discussed exceptions, including how the Southeast Regional Library was managed by Maricopa County. Councilmember Koprowski noted that policy had Southeast Regional Library noted as an exception, asking if the other exceptions should also be listed. Town Attorney Payne stated they could state “unless otherwise marked” in the policy. Director Carmona stated they could work with stakeholders to make sure everything was covered and legal. Councilmember Buchli asked why weapons were allowed in the Council Chambers but not allowed in the Court building; she noted concerns and asked if there was extra protection. 13 Town Attorney Payne said the Council could prohibit weapons but it would need to be noticed with signs displayed, just as it was at the Police Department. Vice Mayor Tilque said she felt comfortable with the additional police officers present at Council meetings. Vice Mayor Koprowski stated with the advocacy center coming in the future, should they have all municipal buildings follow the same rule. Town Attorney Payne stated they could look at updates for this policy, then discussed public criticism of police presence at Council meetings and awareness of the officers. Parks and Recreation Policy No. 2015-02 – Advertising Sponsorships and Naming Rights Mayor Peterson asked if Policy No. 2014-03 and Policy No. 2015-02 were checked for redundancy. Director Carmona responded that there was some cross over in the information in both policies, adding he would bring updates to the Council and possibly combine both policies into one. Vice Mayor Tilque asked about enforcement, to which Director Carmona responded that there were no issues with enforcement. Police - Policy No. 2010-05 – Historical Markers Town Attorney Payne explained the policy, stating historical markers were placed honoring employees who were killed or died in the line of duty. He said the policy was not exclusive to Police and Fire personnel, but applied to all Town employees, then asked the Council for their thoughts or concerns. There was discussion of examples of current historical markers in the Town and other possible scenarios. Mayor Peterson suggested to change the wording from “shall” to “may” to allow options. 14 Councilmember Koprowski asked if Policy No. 1997-03 - Kidzone Safety Programs was active elsewhere and if the Police Department would consider revisiting it, noting it may not need to be a policy. Assistant Town Manager Rhineheimer said the Police Department had different programs, but the majority were not official policy and said maybe it would make sense to follow up for the youth programs not reflected in policy. Public Works - Policy No. 1977-03 – Roadway Dedication Public Works Director Marlow spoke of changes and updates, then stated her recommendations. Town Attorney Payne said this was already in the LDC. Public Works Director Marlow said it outlined dedication requirements, not other specifications, adding other parts needed to be updated in the LDC. The consensus was to repeal this policy and update it in the LDC. Public Works - Policy No. 1980- 02 – Extension of Utilities to Unincorporated Areas Public Works Director Marlow discussed the changes needed. Mayor Peterson stated to repeal the policy and add it to Town Code. Public Works - Policy No. 2009-02 – Installation of Traffic Calming Devices for Residential Traffic Control Councilmember Koprowski discussed a default policy with Maricopa County. Mayor Peterson said she tried to discourage it due to fire trucks being affected. Public Works Director Marlow discussed restrictions and said it was only allowed in residential areas. 15 Councilmember Koprowski said the policy was restrictive and asked if anything had gone through. Public Works Director Marlow responded, saying not since she had been with the Town. Town Attorney Payne stated minor updates would be made for recommendation. Public Works - Policy No. 2010-04 – Protest Policy Public Works Director Marlow said procurement policy updates were done through engineering development services. Town Attorney Payne said it could be added to Town Code under the regular protest policy with a separate one that only applied to Public Works projects. The consensus was to update and add to Town Code. Town Clerk – Policy No. 1991-01 – Recording of Council Meetings; Methods Used Town Clerk Herrera stated this policy was in effect and in line with current practice, adding recording of meetings was not required by state statute but could be codified. Mayor Peterson stated to update the policy into Town Code. Councilmember Torgeson asked about updating the Town Code regarding Communications from Citizens. Mayor Peterson responded that the Subcommittee on Communications would address that. Town Clerk – Policy No. 1996-02 – Telephone and Video Conferences Town Clerk Herrera said this policy could be codified. She discussed the 24-hour notice in the policy for any Councilmember attending telephonically, stating it was not enforced as it was easy to create links for virtual attendance. She noted the disclaimers on the Council meeting agendas came from this policy. Town Attorney Payne said it was important to keep 16 the disclaimer, adding it was permissible to appear telephonically. Mayor Peterson said this policy would probably need to be codified and updated to be modern. Town Clerk – Policy No. 2012-02 - Stakeholder Group Process Town Clerk Herrera said she was not familiar with this policy or why it was in place, then asked the Council for direction on what the process should be. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed that in her experience it was more of a practice and not a formal process by the Council. The consensus was to repeal it. Town Clerk – Policy No. 2012-03- Code of Ethics Town Attorney Payne stated that the Subcommittee on Code of Ethics was currently reviewing and working on this policy. Town Clerk – Policy No. 2022-01 – Purchases from Members of Governing Body Town Clerk Herrera stated that per statute this was required to be a policy and adopted annually. Town Attorney Payne added that Council reaffirmed the same policy every year. Town Clerk Herrera stated she would bring the policy forward for adoption for the current year soon. Town Manager – Policy No. 2013-02 – Neighbor 2 Neighbor Voluntary Donation Program Town Attorney Payne stated this policy was already discussed earlier in the meeting and moved on to the following policy. Town Manager – Policy No. 2019-02 – Appraisal Policy Town Attorney Payne stated Policy No. 2019-02 was a fairly new policy and required the Town to obtain appraisals for any real estate transactions with the exception of any low value properties. 17 Vice Mayor Tilque stated she agreed with the process and asked if it was anywhere else in Town Code or approval processes. Town Attorney Payne responded that no Code provisions required appraisals. Management and Budget Director Pfost suggested that it could be added to the financial policies. Mayor Peterson stated it made sense to go under financial policies and asked if any updates were needed to be made to the policy. Town Attorney Payne responded that the policy was working well and no updates were needed. Town Attorney Payne stated that updates would be made to the policies as discussed and brought forth in future council meetings for motion. 18 ADJOURN Mayor Peterson adjourned meeting at 5:29 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Brigette Peterson, Mayor Chaveli Herrera, 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 May, 2023. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________2023. ___________________________________ Chaveli Herrera, Town Clerk 19