Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN SPECIAL MEETING, FALL COUNCIL RETREAT – DAY 2, OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2023 AT 8:30 AM, SOUTHEAST REGIONAL LIBRARY, 775 N. GREENFIELD ROAD, 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 Town Clerk Judy Martinez, Town Attorney Christopher Payne, Assistant Town Manager Mary Goodman, Assistant Town Manager Dawn Prince, Assistant Town Manager Leah Rhineheimer, Intergovernmental Relations Director Rob Bohr, Finance Management Services Director Håkon Johanson, Parks and Recreation Director Robert Carmona, Fire Chief Rob Duggan, and Police Chief Michael Soelberg OTHERS PRESENT: Facilitator Jim Lehrman AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER The meeting to order at 8:37 a.m. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Council Financial Policies 1 Intergovernmental Relations Director Bohr discussed Council Financial Policies and said the first piece would be the Council Office Budget and Expenses, then the Financial Policies for Council Support Costs, Travel Stipend, and Council Pay and Compensation. He noted it was a pretty thin budget and broken into two areas of Discretionary, which had a budget of $2,600 for the Mayor and $800 for the Council, then a total of $8,000 for Employee Development, adding the $8,000 budget was for Councilmembers to use for training and conferences. He shared sample scenarios based on comparisons with other cities to demonstrate creating an individual budget for each Councilmember to allow them to prioritize their initiatives and choose where to spend money. The proposed individual discretionary budget for the Mayor was $3,000 and then $2,000 for each of the other six Councilmembers for a total of $15,000 under Discretionary. Additionally, he said there was a proposed individual professional development budget of $12,000 for the Mayor and $6,000 for each of the six other Councilmembers for a total of $48,000 under Professional Development. He noted the Mayor’s budget was larger because the Mayor attended up to four different conferences. He discussed how increased Discretionary Funding would also increase the need for more accountability to justify how their expenditures would benefit the community. Facilitator Lehrman asked if there was a majority green light of the Council to consider changes to the Mayor and Council budget. Mayor Peterson recommended changing the policy to allow flexibility by removing specifics such as stating that one conference was in- state, one was regional, etc. Councilmember Koprowski suggested having an application for how to use Discretionary Funding to add accountability. She proposed instead of having an individual amount for each Councilmember, it could be one pot of money; she used the example of $10,000 for buying school supplies for children. She said an application could be submitted explaining how much it would cost to buy those supplies and how it would benefit the community. She said then if there were other Councilmembers with other initiatives, they could submit an application or form and it would be scheduled and accounted for. 2 Director Bohr clarified that the proposal was not for Professional Development or Travel, but for the Discretionary Funds which would almost make the use competitive. Councilmember Bongiovanni supported the idea. Assistant Town Manager Rhineheimer asked for clarification on the intent of Discretionary Funding. Councilmember Koprowski asked if there were examples of what that money was used for, such as for office supplies. Director Bohr stated that it was not for office supplies and most of that money had not been used previously. Director Bohr continued that it was intended to be open for a variety of uses, such as a project or even booking a table at an event that was important to the community and things not already established in our budget. He agreed a form could result in being more intentional and help with tracing those requests back and sticking to the budget. Facilitator Lehrman asked for confirmation that it could be used for anything that the Councilmembers chose, but asked if Councilmember Koprowski’s suggestion would bring definition and purpose to it. Councilmember Koprowski restated her idea was not to have a set amount per Councilmember, but one amount that could be requested to be used for something specific using a form or process, adding it would add accountability. Councilmember Torgeson asked if there was a form or process, who would determine the worthiness. He used examples for giving money to a nonprofit such as For Our Town, reserving a table for a CeCe’s Hope event, or paying for a professional development class for a staff member. Mayor Peterson spoke of not getting into the details, rather establishing an amount first and going from there. Facilitator Lehrman discussed how “form followed function”, then asked if the agreement of the Council was to consider the intention of the funds at a later time. Mayor Peterson said there needed to be the distinction made for staff on if the funds should go into one pot or individual pots, because that would impact how the policy would be done. Director Bohr agreed that it should be established if the two categories of Discretionary and 3 Professional Development were agreeable, then if there should be one bucket or individual amounts. Facilitator Lehrman asked why that was important right now; Vice Mayor Tilque stated it was tied to the ordinance. Councilmember Torgeson said if they did keep the individual amounts but then wanted to use the funds for something as a group, it would force the Councilmembers to work together and have conversations, which he supported. Mayor Peterson stated she liked the idea of an individual budget as well. Councilmember Bongiovanni stated he supported the idea of having one bucket. Councilmember Buchli stated either way the Council would have to be responsible for what they spent, adding it was all about accountability. Councilmember Anderson agreed with keeping the funds in individual buckets and agreed they could work together if they wished to spend the funds for the same purpose. Mayor Peterson offered the reminder that if they had a bucket and wanted to spend money together, it would have to be decided on in a public meeting; she then restated her preference for it to stay in individual amounts. Councilmember Koprowski proposed if the Discretionary Funds were by individual that they be set at $3,000 each, regardless if for the Mayor or a Councilmember. She discussed the individual Professional Development Funds, stating a caveat could be that the travel be based on if a Councilmember was selected to serve in a specific capacity with a group, then that person would attend that conference. Facilitator Lehrman asked if there was a green light for moving on with future discussion regarding keeping the funds in separate buckets or not. Town Manager Banger stated staff could work on the parameters proposed during the meeting. There was a request to have a comparison with other cities included. Intergovernmental Relations Director Bohr summarized Financial Policies with Council Support Costs that included benefits; office space; communication support; expenditure reimbursement and purchasing cards; travel, training, memberships, and social events; and transportation support. He asked if the Council was supportive of keeping the following statements as-is or changing them - The Mayor and Council: shall have the option of 4 enrolling in the Town health and dental benefit programs, are covered by Workers’ Compensation for work-related injuries, and are not eligible for vacation, sick leave, holiday pay, or other similar compensation. Facilitator Lehrman confirmed that a green light for the current language was agreeable. Director Bohr summarized the policy on Office Space. Mayor Peterson noted that the policy listed a telephone, adding that offices did not have telephones any longer. Assistant Town Manager Goodman suggested the first sentence of the policy simply state, “The Town will provide an individual office at the Civic Center for the Mayor, including any necessary resources.” Councilmember Koprowski discussed lack of structure with office supplies and asked if printing services should be added. Assistant Town Manager Goodman voiced support of having broad language and not specifying details to allow flexibility for when positions changed or were added. The majority of the Council was in the green, or yellow green, category of the language proposed. Director Bohr provided the language of the Communication Support policy noting that the Council would receive a Town-issued phone rather than an option for a phone stipend. There were no comments made. Director Bohr provided the policy on Expenditure Reimbursement and Purchasing Card, asking if there was need for them to have a purchasing card at all. Facilitator Lehrman asked that language still worked for everyone. Vice Mayor Tilque said that information needed to be part of a checklist to discuss with the Council and new Councilmembers, noting most of them did not know that a purchasing card was an option. Mayor Peterson stated she did not know if a purchasing card was necessary, but agreed if the Council chose to keep that option, it should be included in the orientation. Facilitator Lehrman confirmed there was no objection. Director Bohr shared the proposed Travel, Training, Memberships and Social Events policy. Some of this topic was discussed earlier in the meeting under a different category. 5 Councilmember Koprowski noted that the Mayor’s budget was important because it also included an international trip, but she suggested that it should be explained that if other Councilmembers went on the trip that they paid for it themselves. Councilmember Koprowski and Vice Mayor Tilque discussed the need to align the budget amounts. Mayor Peterson stated she did not think the trips needed to be defined since it was about accountability, but said in order to be appointed into some of the committees one had to show interest. Councilmember Koprowski stated she understood that point but was worried about excessive travel unless a Councilmember was assigned to a committee that related to a travel expense; she was in support of updating policy to allow flexibility but limit excessive use. Facilitator Lehrman asked if everyone was in agreement to remove the specification of the number of trips because budget would manage that; the Council was in agreement. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed how the policy dictated distance for paying for a hotel room, noting how long it took to drive back and forth from places in Maricopa County after long, multi-day conferences. Director Bohr stated the revised policy was silent on the distance requirement and it was up to their discretion for distance and timing. Mayor Peterson agreed it was no longer determined by mileage. Finance Management Services Director Johanson stated what was in the policy now included prudent judgement. Director Bohr discussed the Transportation Support Policy including the stipend that the Council could receive on a monthly basis. Mayor Peterson stated the 600 miles per month allowance for the Mayor was too much. Vice Mayor Tilque noted that more meetings were being scheduled in-person again. Mayor Peterson stated that she was uncomfortable with using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) business travel rate, preferring instead for a flat rate to be established by the Town; she noted Finance had not been tracking and adjusting the IRS rate in the past. Councilmember Torgeson agreed that the IRS rate changed often but said staff members were competent enough to manage that. Councilmember Koprowski agreed with using the IRS rate, as it was an industry standard but suggested a monthly allowance versus requiring tracking; she agreed that the number of allowable miles could be reduced. Vice Mayor Tilque supported the IRS standard rate. Councilmember Buchli was in favor of a flat rate but for increasing the amount. Councilmembers Anderson, Bongiovanni, and Torgeson had no comments. 6 Facilitator Lehrman asked for an indication of agreement to stick with using the IRS rate. Mayor Peterson stated it was almost a red light for her because she had seen a procedural breakdown and she did not get paid the current rate. Director Johanson acknowledged the error and said staff would manage it going forward. Facilitator Lehrman confirmed the Council was in the green or yellow category for acknowledging that the structure worked and for staying with IRS rate. Director Johanson and Town Attorney Payne clarified that the Council had the option to track and submit their actual miles for a mileage reimbursement, then discussed tax differences. Mayor Peterson noted that someone could not do both; Director Johanson agreed that it was either/or and you could not switch back and forth in the same year. Mayor Peterson said explaining the differences for taxes should be added to the Councilmember Handbook. Director Bohr discussed a lack of consistency with the policies and asked if the Council wished to discuss additional retroactive payments for the Council prior to FY2023. Facilitator Lehrman asked if there was an actual dollar amount determined. Director Johanson stated it was an elected benefit and involved prior fiscal years so it would take some time and research, but he wished to know if the Council would like staff to review the matter. Mayor Peterson and Councilmembers Anderson, Bongiovanni, and Torgeson agreed the Councilmembers (including prior ones) should be made aware and that the matter deserved to be corrected. Councilmember Buchli questioned if it would open “a huge barrel of worms” and expressed other issues that may come up. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed how she was surprised at how these things were missed, then asked whose responsibility it was and what should be the process moving forward. They also discussed setting a precedent and statutes of limitation. Staff asked for clarification that the direction from the Council was to correct the incorrect IRS rates that were paid out going back to January 2017 and to ask former Councilmembers about the stipend. The majority of the Council gave the green light to proceed; Councilmember Koprowski was yellow-green; Councilmember Buchli was in the red for going back to 2017. 7 Director Bohr discussed Council pay and compensation and provided a benchmarking comparison showing Gilbert was in the lower half. Mayor Peterson stated Council compensation was brought up by residents and media, but she was happy with the pay. Councilmember Torgeson stated the discussion should be brought forward, that some potential candidates mentioned not running for office because the pay was low. Facilitator Lehrman asked if the Council gave a green light to have the discussion. Vice Mayor Tilque stated she was not in favor of considering an increase in pay at that time. Councilmember Anderson stated he was not sure he was in agreement with it, but thought it was worth a discussion. Mayor Peterson stated she did not want to bring the topic forward for consideration. Five of the Councilmembers gave the green light to discuss the topic at a later time. 2. Communications Subcommittee Report Out and Meeting Decorum Protocols Town Manager Banger reported out on the work of the Council Communications Subcommittee and the following five focus categories: participation in public meetings; public meetings, consistency, and protocols; customizing communications with the public; Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and Town project communications with stakeholders and the community; and outward communication. He said the group agreed with recommendations to move forward with education on the public speaking process and protocols via a video shown at Council meetings and via online information, as well as an announcement of “for” and “against” digital comments at meetings. The group considered but decided against exploration of a formalized process allowing questions during a Study Session and a follow- up process for outreach to those who spoke during public meetings. The Subcommittee agreed on recommendations for having consistent agenda formatting for all public bodies, exploration of a formalized way to announce the intent of a yes/no vote when confusion may exist on a motion, and easy to locate postings of the decisions/actions voted on by the Council or a voting recap sheet. He discussed the Subcommittee’s recommendations to have the Town work on building relationships with home owner associations (HOA’s) by 8 publishing Town updates in their newsletters and holding annual meetings, exploring options to distribute text notifications to residents, and revamping and enhancing the “What’s Developing Near Me” page on the Town website. The Subcommittee decided against the ideas of an opt-in option for resident, conducting marketing to educate residents about assisting investigations via the Neighbors app or Ring devices, and formalizing the process for the Council to attend neighborhood meetings scheduled by Town or developers. He noted the Subcommittee agreed to explore a pre-design program for standards for right-of-way (ROW) and easement acquisition projects to determine appropriate scope of public notification process, developing a consistent process for CIP/Town project-related meetings, and hiring an in-house CIP communications professional to work with teams and the public during CIP projects. Regarding outward communications, the Subcommittee agreed to staff working to enhancing the Town website, expanding the General Plan webpage with information about zoning and change requests, and hosting clients of commercial development services to review timelines and processes. The group decided against conducting quarterly Town Halls and expanding the General Plan webpage with information about zoning requests. Mayor Peterson requested the video that would be created explaining the meeting protocols and public speaking processes be played in the Town Hall Lobby, in addition to inside the Council Chambers. Town Clerk Herrera provided background on the Subcommittee’s work regarding meeting decorum protocols and shared the Subcommittee’s recommendations for direction on a possible Study Session. Under the subject of Public Meetings and Decorum, the Subcommittee recommended additional signage to inform the public of the policy on signs and to clarify where signs could be placed; a protocol for larger groups of citizens wishing to speak on the same topic; and updated language on the various sections of the agenda for consistency and transparency. The Subcommittee did not recommend a third type of request to speak card. Facilitator Lehrman asked the Council if they wished to speak on any of those four items. Councilmember Torgeson discussed concerns about sign restrictions violating the First 9 Amendment, also asking if t-shirts were considered signs. Town Attorney Payne stated the Town mirrored what was allowed at the Legislature and noted restrictions must be content- neutral and enforced evenly; he provided a sheet with the language that was included in the Council meeting decorum signs. Mayor Peterson discussed how the Town Code stated public comment was to be 15 minutes total. She advocated for updating the Code to match the process being followed; Town Attorney Payne agreed to either follow that portion or remove it from Code. Mayor Peterson stated she was in favor of bringing those recommendations forward to the Council in a Study Session; the Council agreed, but did not see a reason to bring the decorum and policy signs back to a Study Session again. Town Clerk Herrera reviewed the Subcommittee’s recommendations under the topic of Agenda Language Changes, including removing the language restricting the public from speaking on agenda items that were not in the Public Hearing section of the agenda. Town Attorney Payne agreed it should be allowable for the public to speak on any topic they wished; adding though there was no right to speak on non-Public Hearing items, if there was a Communications from Citizens section on the agenda, a person could still speak on any matters within the jurisdiction of the Town. They also discussed simplifying language under the Administrative Items section, removing the Policy section from the agenda since those were actually Administrative Items, and then clarifying the language under the Future Items section and removing the date component, since that was not always known. Councilmember Anderson asked for clarification on if people could speak on Administrative items or not. Mayor Peterson stated a person could still comment on an Administrative item under the Communications from Citizens section of the agenda. Facilitator Lehrman confirmed that everyone was in favor. Town Clerk Herrera and Town Attorney Payne discussed the Council’s rights and limitations for responding to public comment and the request to add those rules for the Council on the Meeting Notes/Changes for the Dais Form. They noted that although the law did allow the right to respond to criticism, it was not recommended by staff. Town Attorney Payne stated 10 if the Council did respond to criticism it had to be at the completion of the Communications from Citizens portion of the meeting and should be addressed to the Council, not the citizens. They also noted the recommendation was for the standing section on the agenda that listed all of the boards and commissions for liaison reporting could be removed from the agenda, but the Council could still make those reports under the Councilmember Communications Report section. Mayor Peterson suggested removing the “current events” wording from the agenda, meaning that the Town Manager, Councilmembers, and Mayor could give any reports or updates during their Communications section. Vice Mayor Tilque agreed, but said staff should review the responsibilities of being a board/commission liaison with the Council, including providing updates on their assignments and clarifying liaison expectations. Town Attorney Payne discussed possible Municipal Code changes, including removal of the Policy section from the agenda, noting again that policy changes could be voted on with the Administrative items. He discussed the possible adoption of new open meeting procedural rules to replace Robert’s Rules of Order. He noted one possibility was Rosenberg’s Rules or Order or for the Town to approve their own procedural rules, using something simple and clear. He said that change would also require an amendment to the Town Code, as well as amending other documents including many board and commission bylaws. Lastly, he discussed future agenda item requests and how the Code currently stated they can be added by the Town Manager, at the request of the Mayor, or at the request of three Councilmembers. He asked if there should be a required touchpoint with the Town Manager to allow time for staff to prepare and make sure the timeline was appropriate and resources were in place. He said the intent would be to add the Town Manager into the process but not to take away the Council’s ability to add items. Mayor Peterson stated she was a “yes” on removal of the Policy section and that those changes could be voted on as Administrative items. Regarding rules of procedure, she asked that the Rosenberg’s Rules be sent to Council with a highlighted section based on Gilbert’s current Code and with a comparison to other cities. She stated she was a “yes” for a Study Session item regarding this, as well for the future agenda items process. The Council agreed to a green light for the removal of the Policy section, as well as a Study Session for the possible Code changes including adoption of new procedural rules and the future item 11 process. Vice Mayor Tilque thanked the Subcommittee for their work and said the process was an attempt to simplify processes. Mayor Peterson discussed the importance of reviewing processes and advocated for some sort of a virtual voting process. 3. Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update Parks and Recreation Director Carmona discussed the 2014 Parks and Recreation Master Plan including the priority areas of new growth with amenities and programs, maintaining aging infrastructure, and building a network of partnerships. He said it included inventory for parks based on the population of 208,000 in 2014 which totaled 605 developed acres of parks and open space and 978 undeveloped areas, 750,000 square feet of facilities, 60 developed miles of multi-use paths, and 75,091 in attendance for programming. He noted the 2019 new growth included Gilbert Regional Park, Desert Sky Park, and Cactus Yards. He highlighted maintaining infrastructure with the Long Range Infrastructure Plan; Smart Park initiatives using items like smart controllers, drones with hoses, etc.; and playground replacement. He discussed working with other offices like Gilbert Digital and public/private partnerships. He said Gilbert Parks and Recreation Department was known nationally for facilities like Cactus Yards and Gilbert Regional Park. He announced that the 2024 Master Plan would include a comprehensive engagement strategy, a parks and program inventory and assessment, operations and cost-recovery analysis, a demands and needs assessment, and market analysis and trends. He reported that based on the current population of 288,000 there were 726 developed acres and 459 undeveloped acres, 1.25 million square feet in facilities (a 66% increase), 72 multi-use paths, 521,323 in attendance for programming (a 594% increase), plus certifications for Certified Autism Center and Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). Jason Genck from BerryDunn discussed the work of Gilbert’s Parks and Recreation Department bringing in visitors from other areas. He expressed appreciation for the Council’s discovery sessions and thanked Gilbert staff. He provided a project background and the schedule, adding they were about three-quarters done and implementation of the Master Plan would be in early 2024. He said they had not seen as much community engagement with other cities, noting Gilbert had 60,938 points of contact with public engagement. He 12 discussed methods of engagement and key findings including the top requests for educational programs, creative playgrounds, public art, immersive experiences, community gardens, a water park, and more open spaces and multi-use paths. He discussed the popularity of sporting events and athletics, as well as requests for year-round access to pools and quality of life amenities. He highlighted the focus groups and their identified challenges including traffic, population growth, water conservation, affordable housing, and maintaining infrastructure. He noted the high priorities identified including pickleball courts, aquatics, a recreation center in southeast Gilbert, and more indoor fitness; medium priorities including skate and dog parks, nature center programing, and disc golf; and lower priorities including other courts and fields, meetings rooms, and picnic shelters. He reviewed programming, an activities assessment, and enrollment numbers for residents and non- residents. Facilitator Lehrman discussed the impressive numbers, then asked about risks, stresses, and vulnerabilities. Director Carmona discussed how in challenging times people actually turned more toward community programs, which he said was wonderful but did tax the system more. Councilmember Koprowski discussed risk with the numbers showing that 33% of programming was for children ages 7-12 years old and how they were going to be teens soon. Councilmember Torgeson agreed and asked what could be done; he also asked about cost-recovery for programming. Town Manager Banger discussed challenges with programming for teens and revenue streams. Councilmember Buchli stated there had been some safety issues at Freestone Park. Director Carmona discussed the work of park rangers there and said that usage of amenities also aided in finding and resolving issues. Councilmember Buchli stated she wanted to make sure the Town was staying on top of those issues. Vice Mayor Tilque congratulated the Parks and Recreation team, then discussed full enrollment and suggested that perhaps non-residents went on the waiting list. She noted how everyone wanted more pool usage, then discussed working with HOA’s. 13 4. Known Capital Project Needs, Part I Police Chief Soelberg highlighted some of the known Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) needs. He discussed collaborating with the Fire and Parks and Recreation Departments as well with community events, initiatives, and operations. He highlighted that the three departments received an autism certification and that the Public Safety Training Facility (PSTF) was one of the best examples of integrated relationship with Parks, Police, and Fire. He discussed the aging of facilities, planning for the future, and the facility and space needs assessment. Parks and Recreation Director Carmona discussed growth and expansion, including the Gilbert Regional Park, Desert Sky Park, and the Riparian Education Center. He highlighted what every day users were looking for. Fire Chief Duggan discussed different projects that needed either renovation, a remodel, or to be rebuilt. He highlighted the Fire Administration Remodel, stating currently Fire Administration staff were working out of the PSTF, which was not a long term solution. He described the project and square footage, noting the task of trying to maximize that square footage and having the proper scope for design. He discussed the Fire Station 4 rebuild, stating it was built in 1999 based on the data they had at the time, but there was not enough room for additional staff. He highlighted the Fire Fleet Building at the South Area Service Center (SASC) that did not have enough space, large apparatus bays, or parking. He discussed lack of funding for their needs and the possibilities of alternate funding. Director Carmona discussed one of their top requests, to have a recreation center in southern Gilbert and for year-round access and amenities. He noted requests for water amenities and intergovernmental agreements (IGA’s) with schools for their swimming pools that limited availability for pool rentals. He also discussed multi-use paths and trails with challenges and request to connect the paths. Police Chief Soelberg discussed the crime lab with potential partnerships. He highlighted the importance of the project to process evidence in an efficient manner, adding current 14 partners did a great job but took longer because they serviced the entire state. He discussed current restrictions with processing Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) for property crimes because there was too much volume. He said Gilbert started looking at options and potential cities to partner with, adding that Chandler used bond money to start building their own recently, so they were now out of the partnership possibilities. He discussed efforts to try to gauge size and needs, adding staff would provide more information to the Council on size and cost in an upcoming workshop in December 2023. He voiced plans for the Advocacy Center and the need to focus on counseling and aftercare as well after touring other facilities and doing research. He said there was not enough money to complete the project so it was now being considered in two phases; Phase 1 would be advocacy and aftercare including victim advocates and counselors. He spoke of designing Phase 1 with growth and long-term vision in mind. He noted if they had to add another building beyond Phase 1 and Phase 2, it would require a parking garage. He discussed the Public Safety Building Expansion and how they had utilized the insufficient space there, including how the departments rotated space for their staff. He also discussed the San Tan Police Station at SASC and how there was not enough space there, noting possibilities for repurposing the site. Lastly, he discussed the possibility of a Police Community Office at the Heritage District with bike teams and how it could benefit that area as a whole. 5. Known Capital Project Needs, Part II Parks and Recreation Director Carmona discussed Freestone Park Improvements and the need for more infrastructure. He highlighted how participants had to travel far for amenities and programming. He discussed limitations with courts, fields, and other amenities including the popularity with pickleball. He said the Department hosted a national pickleball tournament for the deaf recently. He discussed the high demand for ballfields and then noted the plans for Veterans Park improvements including a future monument installation. He noted the desire for an all-abilities playground enhancement. He said that Nichols Park was closed due to the water treatment plant reconstruction but noted it had previously been reserved often for cricket, then added that park was difficult to get to so they wanted to address accessibility when the park was reopened. He discussed the need to add lighting 15 and connect trails in Gilbert for convenience and safety, stating that many of the trails went dark when someone arrived in Gilbert. Fire Chief Duggan discussed needed renovations for Fire Stations 2, 8, 6, and 5 and how those were prioritized. He said they were all built for eight bedrooms but now 10 were needed. He also noted the importance of converting the bathrooms to individual rooms instead of male and female ones. He then spoke of the Fire Station 11 renovation and remodel with an increased scope including the need for a fuel station, stating it would be prioritized down the line because it was not as busy. Lastly he stated Fire Stations 1 and 3 would need to be renovated for the conversions of the restrooms. He highlighted fire stations anticipated deployment needs, concerns, shifting demographics in the workforce, timeline, and next steps. Facilitator Lehrman reminded everyone that they were just providing a preview of the projects. Vice Mayor Tilque stated it would come down to hard decisions with dollars and priorities, noting that her top priority was the Family Advocacy Center. Town Manger Banger thanked the CIP and Budget Teams for their work. 6. Priorities and Themes Review Town Manager Banger summarized the themes from the Spring Financial Retreat and the identified priorities and provided the following recap: Budget and CIP Process Overview  Understand prioritization of projects and identified needs; noting the upcoming workshop on December 11, 2023  Evaluate how best to utilize the Public Works Advisory Board for the CIP program  Not lose sight of smaller projects that would have a big impact in community General Fund CIP Funding Shortfall  Compare peer agencies regionally and nationally, evaluate revenue streams 16 Utility Rates  Bring forward the Cash Funded and Cash/Bond Gradual Funded Options for Water and the proposed rates for Solid Waste and Recycling  Be clear on the “why” messaging for the increase  Provide comparisons with peer communities Community Preservation Ordinance  Staff to prepare the Ordinance with the additional direction from the Council  Include information on additional resources for residents  Develop formalized process to prevent abuse of reporting, include this with presented Ordinance  Provide examples of nuisance or non-conforming use with understanding that there may be need for some case-by-case basis evaluation  Review ordinance for clarity Employee Benefits  Staff had evaluated post-employment access to health plan and considered matching deferred compensation contributions  Dollars not available to fund either  Bring forward employee engagement survey to learn what staff value  Continue efforts to enhance employee benefit package Performance Programs  Council supportive of individual Professional Development and Discretionary budgets  Staff will follow up with recommendations and best practices  Edit Council Travel and Training Policy to remove the number of trips to align with the Discretionary Fund discussion; will bring policy language forward  Edit Office Policy regarding necessary office and staff resources  Council supportive of retroactive payments for travel and mileage reimbursements; staff will research inaccuracies  Council supportive of future topic of Council pay and compensation 17 Communications Subcommittee Report and Meeting Decorum Protocols Council was supportive of bringing the following forward in a Study Session:  Meeting protocol  Proposed agenda language changes  Removal of Policy section on agenda  Exploring adoption of new rules of procedure  Discussing procedure for requesting new agenda items  Discussing rule of 15 minute overall time limit for public speaking in Town Code to include amending or to begin following that Code  Removing the Board and Commission Report section from agenda; Council to provide these reports during their individual report outs Town Manager Banger noted the other items were an overview of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update and a high-level overview of known Capital Improvement Projects. He said the Town was doing a space needs analysis of the organization as a whole which would include needs in Fleet, Public Works, and other areas that were not presented during the Retreat. Councilmember Koprowski noted the Public Works Advisory Board’s recommendation for utility rates acknowledged how the increase may have significant financial impact on residents and staff should look for ways to connect residents with relief or assistance. 7. Day 2 Closing Remarks – Retreat Wrap-Up Town Manager Banger thanked those who participated in the Retreat and expressed appreciation to Management Analyst Kiersten Begay, Assistant to the Town Manager Jennika Horta, and the emerging leaders for their work. He also thanked Facilitator Lehrman and the Mayor and Council for their participation. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned meeting at 3:21 p.m. 18  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 7th day of November, 2023. 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 19