Council Study Session

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN SPECIAL MEETING FOR A STUDY SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2022, AT 5:45 P.M., GILBERT PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING FACILITY, ATLAS AUDITORIUM, 6860 SOUTH POWER ROAD, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Brigette Peterson, Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Yung Koprowski, Laurin Hendrix, Scott September, and Kathy Tilque COUNCIL ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Attorney Chris Payne, Deputy Clerk Judy Martinez, and Parks and Recreation Director Robert Carmona CALL TO ORDER OF SPECIAL MEETING Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 5:50 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 1. Staff presentation to the Council on exploring additional partnership opportunities between the Town and HD South that benefit the residents of Gilbert through arts and cultural education, including assistance to the HD South Capital Campaign. Parks and Recreation Director Carmona introduced the topic and said the request was a high level overview to see if there was support of the Council to discuss additional partnership opportunities with the HD South. He summarized the current agreement which he said included $50,000 in funds provided by Gilbert to assist with maintenance and operation costs, that HD South was to preserve Gilbert’s history, that it should also provide programming such as art history and culture, and allowed for Gilbert to use their Neely Community Room. He summarized the contract requirements including semi-annual financial and utilization reports, a profit and loss statement every six months, an annual 990 Financial Report, and a public and written report at a Council Study Session. Denise Lopez, President and CEO of HD South, provided a presentation and discussed creating a new future for Gilbert. She spoke of the HD South Capital Campaign of “Building Communities For All Ages” and said the best way to predict the future was to create it. She highlighted HD South’s vision, mission, and values. She said they hoped to be a true catalyst for connection. She discussed arts and entertainment, stating they had a 750 square foot art gallery and 8,000 visitors each year. She discussed education and their work with schools, then discussed their efforts with faith-based organizations. She discussed health and wellness and their ability to offer space and amenities, then discussed how HD South provided support to Gilbert. She discussed the vision for renovation and expansion, then said the $2,000,000 Capital commitment would include renovations, new construction, and infrastructure which would increase the interests of residents and tourists to spend time and dollars in Gilbert. She discussed the need to create legacy of Gilbert heritage and instill a unique sense of Town pride. She discussed Gilbert’s current areas of strength, as well as opportunities for improvement that HD South could fill. She highlighted support from other individuals and groups, then reiterated that HD South was in need of more space. Director Carmona reiterated that the current ask was to seek direction from the Council on if they would like staff to enter additional discussions with HD South staff. He said if directed, staff would explore potential opportunities and bring options and ideas back to the Council for consideration at a future meeting. Councilmember Koprowski asked about overall project readiness. She asked what stage the project was in and when it could be implemented once funded. Denise Lopez stated they had gone through the preliminary and planning process, as well as pre-submittal. She said the approved site and building review had gone through the Redevelopment Board. She said submittal for the Building Department review was pending but 90% completed. Councilmember September asked how had supply chain issues affected them, if it had, and how inflation had impacted the project. Denise Lopez stated the capital campaign started in 2017 with the goal of starting the public phase in 2020, then said the COVID-19 pandemic had created stalling. She said now there were some supply chain issues which were starting to subside; she added construction costs had increased dramatically. She said they were confident, along with Caliente Construction, that they would be able to come to an equitable balance at the end of the project and were ready to get back on track. Councilmember September asked for a percentage of how much of an increase there would be, based on inflation; Denise Lopez stated it had doubled. Councilmember Anderson asked if they had considered taking the money that was in the bank now to leverage and “…have something coming out of the ground to attract more donors.” Denise Lopez stated they had discussed that with their general contractor and realized that once there were “sticks in the ground” it would increase their visibility. She said they were asked to not do that until funds were raised, as things like supply issues and timing could extend the groundbreaking time waiting for things to arrive. She said they were advised to have the funds secured prior to breaking ground. Councilmember Anderson discussed their close relationship with the Gilbert School District, asking if they had approached the school to be a donor. Denise Lopez stated there were members of the school board and employees who were donors. Councilmember Tilque welcomed the group and said she was excited for the opportunity to have the conversation. She said she sent some questions beforehand to the group. She said she was not sure of the ask of the Council, whether it was support for the campaign to finish out the dollars needed or to extended the contract, or both. Director Carmona stated it was both, looking at the capital campaign and the $50,000 that was given annually, and also seeing what requests there may be and if there was interest in partnerships to make sure there was an equal value of what the assistance would provide versus what the partnership would bring. Councilmember Tilque asked for clarification that they needed $3,000,000 total and had raised about $1,000,000. Denise Lopez stated they needed about $2,500,000 total and had raised almost $1,600,000; she said of that, $1,300,000 was from the community and the rest from grants. Councilmember Tilque stated that they had met with staff and talked about the gift clause and how the Town could not just give them money. She said she was not sure how to provide direction at this point, as she still had questions and was not sure if it was the right time to ask. Director Carmona stated those were great questions, but said they did not want to explore those questions without knowing if Council wanted them to explore options. Councilmember Tilque stated in the past when there had been projects that were thought to be beneficial for economic development that the Town could look at waiving some of the permitting fees that had a dollar value. She asked if it could be tied to an economic development or tourism item where funds could be found, stating that information was important to understand where the funding would come from and if HD South would consider waiving some fees in lieu of actual cash. She said the downside was that the system development fees could be waived, but the Town would have to pay them if HD South did not pay them. She said it was important to know what pot of money it was coming from. Councilmember Anderson stated he had similar questions and was fine with the process of negotiations in seeing how to move forward. Councilmember September stated he would like to see some more dialogue and deeper exploration as to what kind of value the Town would get if it were to invest and see some numbers behind it. Councilmember Koprowski stated it was important to see that the benefits were measurable. She said she agreed that it would be great to partner with HD South, especially with the connection to the heritage of Gilbert. She said when she was looking at the property, she saw there were a lot of areas that had public access that was within HD South’s property. She said it would be worth looking at to determine if any improvements would be needed to the intersection or roadway, which could be a direct benefit as part of that exploration. She said she supported looking at options for partnership. Mayor Peterson asked Councilmember Koprowski if she meant purchasing rights-of-way for items that the Town may need in the future. Councilmember Koprowski said yes, and currently, such as current infrastructure that was not in the Town right-of-way at the moment. Vice Mayor Yentes asked about a timeline goal for the museum. Director Carmona said it would be dependent on how quickly the conversations and negotiations moved forward and it could be differentiated between value and given cost. He said HD South would like to move soon but discussed starting the conversations as soon as possible. Vice Mayor Yentes noted that the Council would look different soon and it may be good to take into account the different opinions. Mayor Peterson confirmed the consensus was to move forward in getting information and hearing different options. She added that the gift clause would be the top factor to consider and to be very conscious of the laws. She said HD South was a gem in the community and acknowledged those involved in HD South who attended the meeting. She said she felt that in the current culture there was a trend to remove history, but said efforts to preserve history was more important than ever. She spoke of the current conditions of the HD South facility because of leaks and how funds coming in were going to things such as repairs, instead of the campaign. She spoke of the benefits of the HD South programming and said if there was a way for the Town to join in a partnership, it was worth exploring the conversation. Director Carmona thanked the Council for their feedback. Town Manager Banger said one thing that would expedite the conversations was if each Councilmember would email the Town Manager’s Office a list of their questions. Mayor Peterson thanked everyone who assisted in the Study Session. ADJOURN Mayor Peterson adjourned the meeting at 6:18 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Brigette Peterson, Mayor Judy Martinez, CMC, Deputy Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Study Session of the Town Council of the Town of Gilbert held on the 1st day of November, 2022. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this __________ day of ______________, 2022. ___________________________________ Judy Martinez, CMC, Deputy Town Clerk