City Council

Mayor Mark S. Nexsen Lake Havasu City Vice Mayor Don Callahan Lake Havasu City Police Facility Councilmember Crystal Alger 2360 McCulloch Blvd North Councilmember Dean Barlow Councilmember Donna Brister Work Session Minutes - Final Lake Havasu City, Arizona 86403 www.lhcaz.gov Councilmember Jeni Coke Councilmember David McAtlin City Council Tuesday, April 15, 2014 9:00 AM CIP and Asset Management Work Session 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Nexsen called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The mayor led in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Present: 7- Mayor Mark S. Nexsen, Councilmember Dean Barlow, Councilmember Crystal Alger, Councilmember Donna Brister, Vice Mayor Don Callahan, Councilmember Jeni Coke and Councilmember David McAtlin 4. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Mr. Brian Springberg stated he was before Council on behalf of the Ad Hoc Committee that was created approximately nine months ago which is comprised of the Chair Person of the Board and the Executive Directors of the following organizations: Lake Havasu City Marine Association, Lake Havasu City Chamber of Commerce, Lake Havasu City Partnership for Economic Development, Lake Havasu City Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Main Street Association and the Lake Havasu Hospitality Association. He said the reason the Ad Hoc Committee was formed was to get some of the ancillary economic driving organizations of Lake Havasu City together to see if the groups can agree with what Lake Havasu City may need going forward to help from an economic and quality of life prospective. He said the Committee recognizes that the Council has many economic demands and a lot of budget demands of how dollars are allocated and projects are prioritized. He added the Committee has specific capital improvement projects that they think would help Lake Havasu City move forward now that the economic situation has changed. Mr. Springberg reviewed those priority projects as follows: Lake Havasu City Page 1 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 • Wayfinding • Study of the Sports Complex at SARA Park • Additional London Bridge Beach restrooms and other amenities Mr. Springberg said the fourth thing the Committee had backed off somewhat on was the redevelopment of Site Six. He stated although it appears that it would be something worthwhile on some level, the Committee felt it would not be large enough to deal with the tourism tournaments and larger tournaments. He added to make the launch big enough would require a dramatic investment on behalf of the City, and felt in light of the Havasu 280 Project and some of the positive benefits that would come from that and the demands on the budgetary constraints, it was felt that might be something to continue to focus on. He said the Committee felt very strongly that budget item dollars need to be set aside for numerous years so Lake Havasu City can develop as a product. Mr. Springberg added everything that they are respectfully requesting from Council to consider are not just dollar allocations, but are actually investments intended to return money back to the City. Mr. Bill Ullery addressed the Council and stated he believed addressing the heated current policy of sewer fees tied to water usage must be a priority and added a part of that process can be found in a suggestion by former City Councilmember Dennis Schilling. He said Mr. Schilling advocated that by increasing the annual City contribution to the sewer rate stabilization fund from $5 million to $10 million that would enable a significant change in the policy of sewer fees tied to water usage. Mr. Ullery stated Mr. Schilling was also concerned that elected officials are far often too tempted to spend new and increasing revenues on stupid projects such as sifting dirt from Rotary Park Beach, and a couple of parking lots that may or may not be needed. He added more over in Mr. Schilling’s opinion, raising taxes to fix the contentious problem of sewer rates tied to water rates would also be stupid, such as the 6.2% sewer rate increase revealed by Fitch Rating in an audit of the City sewer project which is all a matter of public record. Mr. Ullery stated he liked Mr. Schilling’s proposals and has embraced them as part of his concerns particularly that of how the expanding city revenues are going to be expended in this year and the coming budget years for our City. Mr. Doug Traub President/CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau addressed the Council and stated he heard two great speakers discuss some things that may very well be Council’s priorities as they move forward today. He said where there is definitely the need to perhaps reduce some of the burden on our local tax payers for the sewer rates; we also have to remember what grows our economy, to help grow what we can put into sewer rate contributions down the road. He said he was before Council to reinforce the point regarding Wayfinding signs whether to fund that for a year or two years down the road. He said Wayfinding is being addressed by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) this summer, and by this fall they will have their Wayfinding guidelines in place. He stated Lake Havasu City would be the first community in the state of Arizona to participate in that new program and may be able to receive some matching Lake Havasu City Page 2 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 funds from the State. He said every day the City is not taking advantage of the economic assets, that is, revenue that is contributed back to the City’s coffers and money that is lost. Mr. Traub spoke in favor of the Wayfinding Program, budgeting $600,000 to $625,000 into the next year’s budget. He added the Committee is standing down on the redevelopment of Site Six and said the Havasu 280 site may very well be the future but felt there was no point putting funds into that project until it shapes up. He stated by upgrading the restrooms and other amenities along the Bridgewater Channel, he felt Council was moving in the right direction as that is the main street on the water. He said with regard to the SARA Park Sports Complex, there is such an explosive demand in the community for that kind of facility and felt there were a lot of families who would gladly contribute to sewer fees as they are now if they knew that coming down the road was a place that they could bring their kids to play ball. He added that project would also create economic possibilities to bring revenue into the City. Mr. Traub stated they have to do the same thing that Mr. McCulloch did so many years ago, a vision for the future of the community. Mayor Nexsen clarified two things that were previously stated: one, the rate stabilization reserve cannot be increased to $10 million as the rating agencies would not allow for such a thing and second, the Fitch Rating does not conduct audits, they are a rating agency. 5. COMMUNITY INVESTMENT OVERVIEW City Manager Charlie Cassens stated last year staff presented a biennial budget to Council. He added because State law only allows budgets to be adopted one year at a time, year two of the budget was approved by Council. He said after reviewing with the departments and divisions what may have changed since year two was approved by the Council, one of the things that staff learned was when you are looking out into the second year of a budget process particularly with the Capital Improvements Program or the Community Investment Plan (CIP) the need for an asset management program became much more apparent because you have to look further out what your projected needs are and what their prospective demands on the budget are going to be. Deputy City Manager Larry Didion stated he would be reviewing the deferred asset maintenance projects and the CIP to include asset maintenance projects, capital projects, and unfunded projects for Council. He said stated deferred asset maintenance has been based on economy and not on a desire. He added the proposed asset maintenance will be tied back to the Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) fund balance of $2.5 million that was identified by Council a few years ago for this purpose. He said the way staff viewed that dollar funding was as a one-time funding, that would allow staff to play catch up to a base level so as we move forward with the asset management program; we move forward with a clean slate. Mr. Didion stated that the CIP is a ten year program which includes asset management concepts to try and get the best information about our assets and provide the best maintenance and best return Lake Havasu City Page 3 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 on the dollar. He said with the Lucity Asset Maintenance Program staff will have the best possible review, control, and maintenance of City assets which will save the City money and make assets last longer with proper maintenance. He said staff has prepared this CIP based on knowledge of our systems, past history, asset management, and application of those concepts balanced with the five year projection guidelines. Mr. Didion reviewed the following: Fiscal Year 2013/14 accomplishments: • Vadose Zone Well #5 • Effluent Planning Study • Flow Monitoring/Basin Identification • Rotary Park Improvements • Tinnell Skate Park • McCulloch Boulevard Waterline • El Dorado Waterline • Mockingbird Wash Bank Protection CIP Development of Plan • Asset maintenance principals • Maintaining existing infrastructure and level of service • Maintaining forecasted funding levels • Knowledge of systems • Skill in area of responsibility • Understanding of critical needs • Master plans & studies Deferred Maintenance Projects • General Government Buildings $ 495,000 • Asset Management Implementation $ 120,000 • Rotary Park Restroom Improvements $ 120,000 • London Bridge Maintenance $ 624,342 • Intersection Improvements $ 141,279 • Swanson Avenue Improvements $ 23,392 • Lake Havasu Avenue Improvements $ 350,000 • McCulloch Boulevard Improvements $ 600,000 $2,474.013 CIP – Organization • Asset Maintenance Airport Drainage General Government Streets Lake Havasu City Page 4 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 Wastewater Water • Capital Projects Airport Drainage General Government Streets Wastewater Water • Unfunded Projects Asset Maintenance - Overview Airport – Operations • North Runway Taxiways $ 100,000 • Replacement Obstructing Lights $ 150,000 • Relocate Fire Hydrant – FS #6 $ 45,000 Total FY 14/15 $ 295,600 Funding Source – Airport Fund/Grants Drainage • Roadway Drainage Improvements $ 800,000 • Drainage Improvements Program $ 800,000 Drainage Master Plan Implementation • Wash Bank Stabilization $1,500,000 • Drainage Improvements Engineering $ 425,000 Total FY 14/15 $3,525,000 Funding Source – Flood Control Mayor Nexsen stated with regard to the wash bank stabilization, realizing the washes are serious problems, he expressed concern that the City would be picking up too much expense when the Federal Government should be paying for that project. He added that he did not want the City to be responsible for bank stabilization and fixing things that we do not have jurisdiction over. Mr. Didion stated that would be a multi-year project and added there are some critical needs that need to be addressed prior to the federal government coming on board. Councilmember McAtlin stated some of the funds would come through the flood control funding through Mohave County. Mayor Nexsen stated he wanted to avoid using flood control money to fix a federal problem. General Government • Deferred Maintenance $ 495,000 General Government Buildings • Lucity Program $ 120,000 Lake Havasu City Page 5 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 Total FY 14/15 $ 615,000 Funding Source – Asset Maintenance ($2.5 Million) Mayor Nexsen requested a detailed list of what the expenditures would cover, to which Mr. Didion stated the biggest expense would be the Police Department with regards to the water and sewer line replacements for approximately $325,000. He added that City Hall also needs maintenance as well as individual fire stations that would be rehabbed. He said staff does not have a real good feel for where they should be spending at this time but added with the Lucity Asset Maintenance Program staff will have a better idea in the future. He added if we do not start spending funds for maintenance on the buildings and they continue to deteriorate, it is going to cost additional money in the future. Mr. Cassens added that replacing the sewer line at the Police Department would essentially require shutting down much of the building for a long period of time because the floor would have to be hammered up which would require displacing prisoners that are housed at the Police Department. Parks – Operations • Rotary Park Restrooms $ 120,000 Total FY 14/15 $ 120,000 Funding Source – Asset maintenance ($2.5 Million) Streets – Operations • London Bridge Maintenance $ 624,342 • Intersection Improvements $ 157,000 • Swanson Avenue Improvements $ 23,392 • Lake Havasu Pavement Rehabilitation $ 350,000 • McCulloch Blvd Pavement Rehabilitation $ 600,000 Total FY 14/15 $1,755,523 Funding Source – Asset Maintenance ($2.5 Million) Councilmember Barlow stated that the $624,000 for the London Bridge Maintenance, not too long ago, was a line item in the budget for $50,000 and wondered if staff had deferred some maintenance. Maintenance Service Division Manager Mark Clark stated that item was a compilation of the work that had been deferred and also includes a study and construction plans. He added that $400,000 to $500,000 would be for the removal of the sand on the bearing pads, which means the bridge does not move when it needs to as it expands during temperature changes. He added it would also cut access to the mainland side to allow maintenance of the bridge and would also include dewatering Pier D. Councilmember McAtlin asked with regard to the Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) Study, what would be happening to the right of way, to which Mr. Clark replied that Councilmember Callahan had mentioned that he wanted to talk about doing something on Lake Havasu City Page 6 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 McCulloch Boulevard between Smoketree Avenue and Acoma Boulevard. He added staff was planning on having a public process and form an ad hoc committee. Councilmember Alger asked if the City would qualify for ADOT funding for the Lake Havasu Avenue pavement project, to which Mr. Clark stated there is $2 million to $3 million of Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG) funding over the next four to five years that is allocated for the Lake Havasu Avenue project north of Palo Verde Boulevard to address the left turn lane issue as well as the Swanson Avenue project. He added ADOT is currently underfunded by $60 million to $79 million and felt there would not be a lot of discretionary money available. He said there is a little hope on the horizon that the Legislature was talking about going back to the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) Exchange which would mean that the City would not have to go through the Surface Transportation Program (STP) design process which would save a significant amount of money. Mayor Nexsen stated the Legislature had swept $89 million from the HURF which would leave the City’s share at approximately $160,000 or $170,000. Wastewater – Operations • Mulberry Effluent Basin Expansion $ 125,000 • Vadose Zone Wells #6 and #7 $ 370,000 • Chip Drive Pump Station Rehabilitation $ 108,000 • Island Tertiary Filter Rehabilitation $ 250,000 • London Bridge Road Pump Station Rehabilitation $ 260,000 • SCADA Upgrade $1,000,000 Total FY14/15 $2,113,000 Funding Source – Wastewater Utility Fund Mayor Nexsen asked why staff would be spending more money on Vadose Wells that have not proven to work. Operations Department Project Manager Jeremy Abbott stated the life of a typical Vadose Well was between six and seven years. He added Vadose Zone Wells #6 and #7 are new wells to replace existing wells that we are looking at a failure. Mayor Nexsen stated in light of this project just really not doing anything, why not give up on the Vadose Well idea and move on, to which Mr. Cassens explained the Vadose Wells are part of the City’s effluent disposal program as adopted or approved by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). He said until staff comes up with a replacement for them, the City has to maintain them in order to dispose of the effluent that the plant is producing. He added staff does have plans to investigate a Western Arizona Power Administration (WAPA) line and some other alternatives but that is years out in the future and in the meantime, staff has to take care of what we have. Mayor Nexsen stated the WAPA line may be sooner if discussions with Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) come to fruition and the City is able to build that line which would allow the City to use effluent in more places and close the Vadose Well Program. Mr. Cassens stated that was his goal that at some point the City would be able to declare a close to the Vadose Well program. He said the City currently has a lot of effluent stored in the ground but does not have an effective way of getting Lake Havasu City Page 7 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 access to that water. He added the water that is being stored is stored above the 450’ contour so it does not count against the City’s Colorado River allotment. He said it has been his experience and other agencies for direct reuse of that effluent for landscaping, parks and schools to offset those areas that are currently using potable water to irrigate. Water – Operations • Water Main Replacement $1,250,000 • Water Tank Rehabilitation $ 350,000 • Rehabilitation Existing Wells $ 675,000 • Well Expansion Program $ 442,474 • Booster Station 1B $3,019,000 • Water Treatment Plant $ 200,000 • Booster Station 6A $1,672,050 Total FY 2014/15 $7,608,524 Funding Source – IDD/Debt Service Mayor Nexsen asked for clarification where Booster Stations 1B and 6A are located, to which Water Division Manager Chuck Michalski stated 1B is the North Booster Station up Kiowa off from Anacapa Drive and Booster 6A is the future station above Booster Station 5A on Bison Boulevard. He added that Booster Station 5A would help eliminate the hydro-system and feedback to the original zone of the City from Bison Boulevard. In response to Councilmember Alger’s question, Administrative Services Manager Valerie Fenske stated the Irrigation and Development District (IDD) brings in over $10 million in revenue from rates and $5.6 million in IDD property tax. Councilmember Callahan wondered what was happening with the Well Expansion Program, to which Mr. Michalski stated staff has been searching for a second water source to hopefully install a second horizontal collector well. He added there were originally thirteen wells and are now down to seven wells which are in need of rehabilitation. He said a couple of them may need to be drilled which is a substantial cost. He added the horizontal collector well has proven itself over time that it has been installed as a single source, less maintenance and a very high producer of water. Capital Project – Overview • Drainage – Operations North Havasu Area Drainage $ 208,681 Total FY 2014/15 $ 208,681 Funding Source – Flood Control/General Fund • General Government Contingency $4,508,000 Lake Havasu City Page 8 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 Rotary Park Expansion (Land Purchase) $ 682,000 Total FY 14/15 $5,190,000 Funding – Contingency – Various Funds Funding – Park Expansion – Property Acquisition Fund Mr. Didion stated this item includes a couple items where staff anticipates the sale of public properties for projects that have not been identified. He added an allocation has to be in the budget should be the property be sold in the next budget cycle and staff would like to do a particular project. He added this also included the Rotary Park Expansion Project, formerly known as Body Beach. He said the intention is to buy nine to ten acres of land from State Lands at the very end of Rotary Park, combine that into Rotary Park and do certain passive improvements such as trails, beach access and shoreline access. Mayor Nexsen asked if staff was any closer to purchasing the property to which Mr. Didion stated he had a conversation with the State and they are willing to drop the price to approximately $150,000 per acre. He said he has been in negotiations with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) regarding an easement between the 450 Permit and 455 Permit that is land that cannot be used by the City and in his opinion since it is not buildable and the City cannot use that land, the City should not have to pay for it. • Parks – Operations Tinnell Skate Park ADA Upgrades $ 90,000 Aquatic Center Parking Tie $ 50,000 SARA Park Trailhead Improvements $ 52,012 Total FY 2014/15 $ 192.012 Funding – Tinnell Parking – Refuse Funding – Aquatic Parking Connection – Refuse SARA Park – Grant/In-kind • Wastewater – Operations WWSE Oversight Finalization $ 100,000 Effluent Reuse Enhancement $ 40,000 Water Conservation Program $ 171,000 WAPA Reuse Study $ 110,000 Total FY 2014/15 $ 421,000 Funding – Wastewater Utility Fund/BOR Grant Mayor Nexsen stated staff has been talking about the Wastewater Finalization for about three years, to which Mr. Abbott stated this was not a new project but a carryover of a 14-month contract. He added staff has acquired the GIS information from Atkins North America, Inc. and Carollo Engineers going through that information and updating the model, manipulating it through Lake Havasu City Page 9 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 that process. He said staff has done inspections on all of the major pump stations and will have a report and presentation on the finalization of the wastewater program this calendar year. • Water – Operations North Water System Improvements $ 400,000 Water Authority Water Allocation $ 83,000 Firming Agreement $ 50,366 SARA Park Waterline Extension $ 350,000 Total FY 2014/15 $ 883,366 Funding – IDD Mayor Nexsen asked if the SARA Park Waterline Extension was going to run $350,000 and not the initial estimate of $750,000 for the waterline to go around the park, to which Mr. Michalski said that was a carry forward and stated, right now, the project is estimated at $750,00 and may have to carry more money than that forward. Mayor Nexsen said no doubt the City needs water at SARA Park to do some of these other things but wondered if the idea of trying to bring effluent to the park would change how staff looks at the water line extension. Mr. Michalski stated staff has directed Atkins North America, Inc. to look at a couple of added alternatives. He added this project would probably be done in a couple of phases, the bottom portion that comes off from Sweetwater Avenue would be replaced going up to the Rodeo Grounds, and the second portion would loop up to the top as another added alternate. He said the reason for that is if the reuse water ever would come to be, it would be hard exchanging the existing potable water line that is there. He said the original project was for a 10 inch water line that would loop the park which is a lot of water for a few drinking fountains because the water use would be minimal, but stated one of the issues staff wanted to make sure did occur is if water were to be run to SARA Park, there would be enough water to run fire water at a certain gpm throughout the park. He said even though there is no commercial or housing currently at the park, there are buildings in the future within the overall master plan. Mr. Cassens asked what it would cost to install a dry 6-inch dry purple pipe at the same time as the trenching was done for the 10-inch water line pipe, to which Mr. Michalski stated it would be at least two-thirds the cost of the project due to the labor costs. He added there are ADEQ regulations requiring separation of the two pipes which would require two trenches. 6. UNFUNDED PROJECTS DISCUSSION Unfunded Projects • Mainland Launch Facility • Site Six Redevelopment Program • Havasu 280 Infrastructure Construction • London Bridge Beach Restroom Improvements • Community Athletic Field Needs Assessment Lake Havasu City Page 10 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 • Wayfinding Program • PARA Study & Implementation – McCulloch Boulevard Administrative Services Director Valerie Fenske provided a matrix of projects, projected dollars, and potential funding sources. She said staff had identified a CIP fund balance of $400,000 and the excess funds in the EBT fund. She stated once the budget stabilization reserve was funded for the $2.5 million out of the initial EBT projections and took another $2.5 million and directed that toward the asset maintenance program, staff anticipates $1.6 million available in the CIP fund that can be directed to other uses. Mr. Cassens stated that in the earlier iterations of this matrix, the General Fund was included as a potential funding source, and asked Ms. Fenske to explain why the General Fund is no longer considered a potential source for the CIP projects. Ms. Fenske stated at the time staff had prepared a single year budget and then needed to lay that into five year projections, given the desired general fund end balance staff would like to maintain in the General Fund, it did not appear that the General Fund could contribute to any of the projects. Mayor Nexsen asked Ms. Fenske what those general fund balance amounts were, to which Ms. Fenske stated one of the things staff looks at in targeting the general fund balance is 90 to 120 days of operating cash. She said if you look at a single year at a time the general fund balance looks great but when you lay it out for five more years looking into the future and with the projected expenditures, the fund balance starts going into the deficit. She said there is still a fund balance but it would fall below the target of 90 days to 120 days fund balance. Ms. Fenske stated staff has identified a couple of things that they will go back and have discussions internally at an executive level. She added those include accumulation of funds for vehicle rents and future maintenance for facilities, fund vehicle replacement at full levels, and Transit at the projected funding levels. She added staff would also take another look at their sales tax revenue forecast. Ms. Fenske said what was laid into the forecasts are items related to salaries and wages which was something that was built into the budget with the information staff had received at the Council Retreat. Mr. Cassens stated this was just a first blush forecast looking forward to determine what might conservatively be made available from the General Fund to look at some of these unfunded CIP projects that are on the table. He added staff felt the General Fund is pretty much at saturation once we get out a few years so staff did not think it would be safe from a conservative stand point to offer anything from the General Fund for these CIP projects. Councilmember Alger stated that it sounded to her that staff was putting the cart before the horse and wondered if staff was not seeing the projected revenues coming in as quickly as had been anticipated. Ms. Fenske stated there were a couple of things that happened with the five year forecast that had been included in the last year budget, one being the P3 Program has been removed because that revenue source is no longer available. She added staff tries to stay very conservative on the revenue forecast. Mr. Cassens added that staff had included the salaries and Lake Havasu City Page 11 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 wages, where staff had heard that Council wanted to get back onto a system of progressive compensation going forward provided the revenues would support it. Mayor Nexsen stated he agreed with Councilmembers Alger’s point and added what staff was saying is revenues don’t support what is built into the budget. Mr. Cassens stated revenues are okay now but it is when we get into the future. Ms. Fenske stated this matrix was to demonstrate that staff is not feeling that the General Fund has funding to dedicate and transfer to the unfunded CIP projects. Mayor Nexsen requested input from Council and stated what he had heard was funding the Wayfinding program, Community Fields Assessments, the London Bridge Beach restrooms, and the Havasu 280. He said with regard to the Wayfinding project and in light of the issues the City has with the ADOT and those not getting resolved until late next year, that project may be able to be moved to the following year. He added there is not a whole lot the City can do at this point and did not want to take a piece meal approach on the project. Councilmember McAtlin stated with regard to the main land launch facility, he was not sure State Parks would be funding some of those costs. Mr. Cassens stated State Parks mentioned funding it all providing they were able to acquire the funds or appropriation through the legislature. He added the State Parks director had mentioned that they would not only build a launch facility but also participate in the construction of the road which is part of the Havasu 280 infrastructure construction. He added that staff did not expect that to be resolved this fiscal year. Mr. Cassens stated the Council had previously committed $300,000 for the Wayfinding project and said the question is if they are willing to commit the additional $300,000 for the project. Mayor Nexsen asked before funding $3 million for the infrastructure for the Havasu 280, he wondered if there would be any participation from the developer, to which Mr. Cassens explained his understanding was there would be a four lane divided thoroughfare through that area and the City would construct half of the road and the developer agreed to do the other half of the road. He added they would also be participating in the incremental upsizing of the pipelines if their development would require a larger pipe to serve their development. Councilmember Callahan asked if there was a timeline to provide access to the property to which Mr. Cassens stated staff would like to start the project as soon as possible. Mr. Didion stated the whole intent of budgeting for this funding is to start the project next year. Councilmember Barlow asked if there was a trigger point and if there is by what agency. Mr. Cassens stated State Parks controls the land at the end of the road. He added the City has an offer on the table with State Parks and in order to accelerate this project through the Havasu 280, staff has told State Parks that the City would be willing to construct just the launch facility in return for Lake Havasu City Page 12 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 their commitment to allow the City to repay itself through all of the launch fees that State Parks might charge for that facility. He added when he spoke with State Parks Director Bryan Martyn, he wanted the City to wait and see the outcome of State Parks desire to get an allocation from the legislature that would allow them money to not only build the launch facility but also pay for the road that would gain public access to that launch facility. Mayor Nexsen stated he had also heard to hold off doing anything on the Site Six redevelopment and added in light of the limited capacity, it might not be such a bad idea. He said at one point the City had thought it would be a fishing center that would be great for the big bass tournaments but are now being told it is too small for those tournaments. Mr. Cassens stated the City could make it a community fishing center, not big enough for tournaments but could keep some of the facilities that are out there now and reconfigure some of the others and maybe add a little convenience bait shop out there without having to bite off the whole thing at once. Councilmember Alger stated she thought the majority of the Council would like to see the Havasu 280 move forward and wondered what would happen if the City were to partially fund it and also fund the London Bridge Beach restrooms, the Athletics Field Needs Assessment and the Wayfinding Program. Mr. Cassens replied that the Havasu 280 project would move forward in a phased fashion. Discussion followed concerning the Recreation and Public Purposes Lease with the Bureau of Land Management for Havasu 280. Councilmember Brister stated she felt it was crucial to include the London Bridge restrooms project, the Community Athletic Fields project, and the Wayfinding project. She added that she thought the Havasu 280 was a project that the City should not let fall apart. Councilmember Callahan said nothing had been said about the PARA Study for the uptown area and stated if the City does not make some effort to revise the downtown area, it will never develop and continue to deteriorate. Mr. Didion stated one thing staff would recommend if we could apply the $50,000 or preferably the $250,000 that would allow staff to have the necessary conversations with the people in that area and then the design. Mayor Nexsen asked if there was some reason why the Downtown District would not be a part of that project as part of their enhanced services district to do those studies. Mr. Didion stated if you look at the purposes of using that mechanism of funding that would be one of them, and said he would assume the City would want them to participate. He added the idea of the original $50,000 is to go beyond that group. Mayor Nexsen stated the whole point of an enhanced services district is to do those kinds of things. Mr. Didion stated once the community decides what they want in that area then the City can negotiate with the Downtown District once it is formed and then discuss how we share in the cost of the development of the engineering plans. Mayor Nexsen stated with regard to the Wayfinding Project that Mr. Traub had previously Lake Havasu City Page 13 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 discussed, the best case scenario would be this time next year that ADOT would give the go ahead. Mr. Traub stated they were originally given assurances that the State would have their Wayfinding program done in July and in talking with some people not directly related said it would be at the end of summer, then that is when ADOT would say now we have standards, now we can evaluate your plan. He said their Wayfinding plan is done and already conforms to the federal guidelines they are about ready to adopt. He added he can see going out to bid for the construction documents before Christmas or in January, then going out to bid in February or March and then construction taking place in April. Mayor Nexsen stated he does not have the same level of confidence in the ADOT approvals, noting the landscaping project on the highway has taken years. Mr. Traub stated the reason for that is the City was looking to the ADOT to pay for the project. He added the Wayfinding project would be funded through the City and said he hoped the Council would fund the Wayfinding project in this fiscal year’s budget. Mr. Cassens stated based on the discussion thus far we are showing that the London Bridge restroom improvements, the Community Athletic Field Needs Assessment, and the Wayfinding project would be funded in this fiscal year. Councilmember Alger asked to table this discussion until Council has had the opportunity to review the General Fund budget. Mayor Nexsen stated he did not think there was any intent to finalize the budget at this time. Mr. Cassens stated staff was present to see how Council would prioritize the projects with the $2 million going forward, knowing that there may be more funding available from the General Fund when those discussions take place. Mayor Nexsen asked for a general consensus if Council felt the Athletic Fields Assessment was important to fund. He added, having said that, if the assessment says all the projects would be at SARA Park, there are not water lines to do that project and stated Council needs to be cognizant of that. Mr. Cassens stated he believed the assessment would not be specific to SARA Park. Mr. Didion stated there are opportunities for expansion at Dick Samp Memorial Park and would also want the consultant to look at the existing facilities and how their usage could be increased. Mr. Clark stated he thought another opportunity that exists would allow this study to look into coordinating with the Lake Havasu Unified School District regarding the Buena Vista Avenue site. Councilmember Alger wondered if the Master Plan would include this study so two separate studies would not have to be done. Mr. Didion explained that the General Plan does not get into the level of facilities assessments. Mayor Nexsen suggested the following and then follow-up later with additional discussion: • PARA Study • Wayfinding • London Bridge Restrooms • Havasu 280 Infrastructure Lake Havasu City Page 14 City Council Work Session Minutes - Final April 15, 2014 Mayor Nexsen stated he personally believed the London Bridge Beach restrooms was an important project as it is our main street waterway. Councilmember Brister asked if staff had a clear understanding what the citizens wanted to do with the uptown mainstreet district. Mr. Didion replied that was the intent of the PARA Study. He added that would be the goal of the ad hoc committee, to figure out exactly what our community wants. Mr. Cassens stated from a design standpoint we need to start from scratch in a couple of areas. He added we have a pretty good feel for the traffic patterns, the thoroughfares and the traffic counts, and a lot of the engineering, but we just need to find something that everybody thinks looks good. He said with the downtown group that is forming there could potentially be a funding source and if there was a way they could participate in those discussions, staff would certainly invite them into that process so that we could help accomplish the things that the folks in the downtown area want to see happen. Mayor Nexsen stated he was hoping that group would bring in more than a few stakeholders with a general consensus and buy-in to what should happen as part of that enhanced services district. Councilmember McAtlin stated with regard to the PARA Study he thought the biggest portion of that was improving the traffic flow on Swanson Avenue and Mesquite Avenue and enhancing McCulloch Boulevard. Councilmember Callahan stated along those same lines, something has to be done with the traffic flow on McCulloch Boulevard and move away from that thoroughfare atmosphere right now. 7. WRAP-UP AND FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS 8. ADJOURN Upon motion by Councilmember Barlow and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 11:07 a.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full and true copy of the CIP and Asset Management Work Session meeting minutes of the Lake Havasu City Council held on the 15th day ofApril, 2014. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and posted, and that a quorum was present. ____________________________________ Kelly Williams, City Clerk Lake Havasu City Page 15