City Council

Mayor Mark S. Nexsen Lake Havasu City Vice Mayor Don Callahan Police Facility Councilmember Dean Barlow 2360 McCulloch Blvd North Councilmember Donna Lake Havasu City, Arizona 86403 Brister-McCoy www.lhcaz.gov Councilmember Jeni Coke Councilmember Michele Lin Councilmember Cal Sheehy City Council Regular Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, July 26, 2016 6:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Nexsen called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. INVOCATION: Captain Stephanie Lueras, Salvation Army Captain Stephanie Lueras with Salvation Army gave the invocation. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Mayor led in the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. ROLL CALL Present: 7- Mayor Mark S. Nexsen, Councilmember Dean Barlow, Councilmember Donna Brister-McCoy, Vice Mayor Don Callahan, Councilmember Jeni Coke, Councilmember Cal Sheehy and Councilmember Michele Lin 5. CALL TO THE PUBLIC There were no requests to address the Council. Mayor Nexsen recognized Ms. Laura Smith who passed away this last week. He stated she was a past member of the Planning & Zoning Commission and had also served as Commission Chair. He added Ms. Smith was always concerned about the city and was a real asset to the community. Mayor Nexsen extended thoughts and prayers to her husband, mother and father, and other family members. 6. CONSENT AGENDA 6.1 ID 16-0821 Approve the July 12, 2016, City Council Regular Meeting Minutes 6.2 ID 16-0800 Adopt Resolution No. 16-3067 Abandoning the Entire 10-Foot Public Utility and Drainage Easement Located at the Rear of Tract 136, Block 9, Lot 15 6.3 ID 16-0814 Adopt Resolution No. 16-3069 Abandoning the Eastern 3-Foot of the 10-Foot Public Utility and Drainage Easement Along the Western Lake Havasu City Page 1 Printed on 8/10/2016 City Council Minutes - Final July 26, 2016 Property Line of Tract 123, Block 5, Lots 2 & 3 6.4 ID 16-0833 Call for Executive Session Pursuant to A.R.S.§ 38-431.03(A) 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 9, 2016 Councilmember Coke moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented, seconded by Councilmember Barlow, and carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Mayor Nexsen, Councilmember Barlow, Councilmember Brister-McCoy, Vice Mayor Callahan, Councilmember Coke, Councilmember Sheehy and Councilmember Lin 7. CORRESPONDENCE, COMMUNICATIONS, PETITIONS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, CITY MANAGER REPORT 7.1 ID 16-0820 Announce Vacancies on Lake Havasu City Boards, Committees, and Commissions City Clerk Assistant Sacia Graber announced the current vacancies on various Lake Havasu City Boards, Committees, and Commissions. 7.2 ID 16-0819 City Manager's Report City Manager Charlie Cassens recognized Wastewater Division Manager Doug Thomas, the City’s longest tenure employee who celebrated his 40th anniversary on April 1st. He stated that Mr. Thomas is a stellar employee and represents his agency extremely well and is highly respected in his industry. He said Mr. Thomas has brought his division to a level of efficiency and operational excellence that he has not seen anywhere else. Mr. Cassens presented Mr. Thomas with a plaque in appreciation for his dedicated service to the Lake Havasu City Wastewater Division. Mayor Nexsen presented Mr. Don Bergen with a plaque in appreciation for his service on the Lake Havasu City Planning & Zoning Commission from July 2010 to July 2016. Mr. Cassens reported on the following: • The Lake Havasu City Council has designated November 8, 2016, as the date for holding a General Election in Lake Havasu City for the purpose of ratifying the Lake Havasu City 2016 General Plan. Anyone wishing to submit a pro or con argument regarding the question for publication in the pre-election voter pamphlet has until 5:00 p.m., July 28, 2016, to do so. Arguments are limited to 300 words in length and a payment of $100.00 per argument is required to offset a portion of the cost of printing the pamphlet. Arguments should be submitted to the Lake Havasu City Clerk’s Office. A complete copy of the Lake Havasu City 2016 General Plan is accessible on the City’s Website at www.lhcaz.gov, and a general description of the Plan and its elements will be included in the pamphlet, which will be mailed to each household that contains a registered voter. For more information, contact the Lake Havasu City Lake Havasu City Page 2 Printed on 8/10/2016 City Council Minutes - Final July 26, 2016 Clerk’s Office at (928) 453-4142. • Code Enforcement Update. • Building Permit Update. • The next Coffee with the Mayor and City Manager is scheduled for Friday, August 5, 2016, at 7:30 a.m. at the Red Onion. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8.1 ID 16-0822 Approve Amendment No. 2 to Professional Services Contract with Whitney & Whitney PLLC for Public Defender Legal Services Mr. Cassens stated this item is to amend the public defender legal service contract with Whitney & Whitney. He explained that the contract was initiated back in 2012 for $60,000 per year and was amended for FY 2014/15 to $75,000, $125,000 for FY 2015/16, and $100,000 for FY 2016/17. He said the request was to increase the contract to $100,000 for the three remaining years but due to budget timing in FY 2014/15 the contract remained at $75,000 and to make up for that, was increased to $125,000 in FY 2015/16. Mr. Cassens stated that the City received a letter from Mr. Bryan Whitney requesting an amendment for the final year to continue the contract at $125,000 as opposed to the $100,000 that was previously negotiated. He added that they had also requested a two-year extension of the contract but said, unfortunately, this is the last year for extensions per the contract. Mr. Whitney addressed the Council and stated the requested amount of $125,000 will help them add a staff member to serve their indigent defense clients and Veterans Treatment Court clients. He said he and his wife live in Lake Havasu City as well as an unnamed partner, Michael Wozniak and his wife. He added that they also employ a paralegal who lives locally. He said that they recently added a local staff member who only serves their indigent defense clients and Veterans Treatment Court clients. Mr. Whitney said that her husband is a Navy recruiter which is a great addition to have someone familiar with Veterans Court issues. He said the basis for requesting Council approval for a $25,000 increase is to fund this position, which is salaried at approximately $30,000 per year. Councilmember Sheehy asked if the caseload had increased. Mr. Whitney explained when they first began, the caseload was approximately 130 to 135 clients per year and has grown to as little as 200 and to as many as 300 clients per year which does not include Veterans Court clients. He added Veterans Court has grown since its beginning to approximately 50 to 55 clients currently in treatment court. Mr. Whitney stated Veterans Treatment Court is a much more intensive process and goes beyond an initial consultation and a few court proceedings and typically involves contact with a client from anywhere between six months to two years with check-up hearings every two weeks and multiple consultations for certain clients depending upon their issue and what type of treatment plan they are working through. Councilmember Sheehy asked for the number of clients served last year versus the previous year so Council would have a good comparison of an increase Lake Havasu City Page 3 Printed on 8/10/2016 City Council Minutes - Final July 26, 2016 that would warrant an increase to the contract. Mr. Whitney stated the indigent defense clients last year were 240 and this year are just under 300 clients. He added that his guess is that veteran clients have increased approximately 20 to 25. Mayor Nexsen stated that last year there were between 35 to 38 veteran clients and this year that number is somewhere between 56 or 57. He added that 55 clients have graduated from the treatment program. Mr. Whitney stated they have had a really high percentage of success rates with only one veteran back in court with reoccurring charges. Mr. Whitney stated along with the normal court process, they also participate in activities such as hikes and other community interests and added that they also participated in the Veterans Family Fun Day event which was a great success. He said they have also attended some out of state trainings in Anaheim, California and are hoping next year to make a presentation at the conference to be held in Washington, D.C. Mayor Nexsen opened the public hearing. There being no comments, he closed the public hearing. Councilmember Sheehy pointed out that this is not a continuation of the $125,000 paid last year. Mayor Nexsen stated the contract was supposed to be reduced to $100,000 this year. Councilmember Sheehy expressed concern that this was not before the Council prior to adopting the FY 2016/17 budget. Mr. Cassens stated the request came in long after the budget discussions began several months ago. Mayor Nexsen stated that the City budgets a large amount for legal fees and assumed that would be absorbed through that budget request. Vice Mayor Callahan moved to approve amendment No. 2 to professional services contract with Whitney & Whitney PLLC for Public Defender Legal Services and authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment on behalf of the City, seconded by Councilmember Barlow, and carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Mayor Nexsen, Councilmember Barlow, Councilmember Brister-McCoy, Vice Mayor Callahan, Councilmember Coke and Councilmember Lin Nay: 1 - Councilmember Sheehy 8.2 ID 16-0816 Adopt Resolution No. 16-3068 Approving Modification to Intergovernmental Agreement with the Arizona Department of Revenue for the Uniform Administration and Collection of Lake Havasu City Municipal Taxes Administrative Services Director Tabatha Miller addressed the Council and stated in June of 2015, the Council executed an agreement with the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) for the administration, collection, licensing and audit services for the municipal sales and use tax of the City. She said the modification of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) includes some minor housekeeping items. Ms. Miller stated the first change allows the ADOR to hold distribution of Lake Havasu City Page 4 Printed on 8/10/2016 City Council Minutes - Final July 26, 2016 taxes that are paid in error and allows them to stop sending those distributions knowingly to the wrong place until the problem is fixed. She stated another change to the IGA allows cities to have a little bit of influence over decisions that the ADOR makes concerning local taxes. Ms. Miller stated the contract modification also acknowledges that the cities are paying for substantial support for ADOR which had been implemented in the last couple of years, and another item removes specific terms of the contract to include an automatic renewal. Ms. Miller said the final change is the option to review the contract on an annual basis which allows the cities and the Arizona League of Cities and Towns to meet on a specific date with representatives of the ADOR and discuss issues of concern. She added that date has been changed from March 1st to July 1st of each year. Mayor Nexsen stated that the ADOR fee came about a couple of years ago to help the State balance their budget and was supposed to be temporary. Mr. Cassens added that back when that legislation was passed, ADOR wanted to send the cities an invoice but the cities and towns said if they were going to pay ADOR then they wanted a contract for service to have some control over the performance measures. He said the IGA before Council is fine tuning of that contract with ADOR. Mayor Nexsen opened the public hearing. There being no comments, he closed the public hearing. Councilmember Sheehy moved to adopt Resolution No. 16-3068 approving the modification to Intergovernmental Agreement with the Arizona Department of Revenue related to uniform administration and collection of the City’s municipal taxes, seconded by Councilmember Brister-McCoy, and carried by following vote: Aye: 7 - Mayor Nexsen, Councilmember Barlow, Councilmember Brister-McCoy, Vice Mayor Callahan, Councilmember Coke, Councilmember Sheehy and Councilmember Lin 9. CURRENT EVENTS Councilmember Barlow reported that the Lake Havasu Chamber of Commerce has published a “Candidate Guide 2016 Primary Election Candidates,” and said copies are available at the Lake Havasu Chamber of Commerce and on their website.. 10. CALL TO THE PUBLIC There were no requests to address the Council. 11. FUTURE MEETINGS Tuesday, August 9, 2016 @ 6:00 p.m. – Regular Meeting Tuesday, August 23, 2016 @ 6:00 p.m. – Regular Meeting - CANCELED 12. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS There were no future agenda items. 13. ADJOURN Lake Havasu City Page 5 Printed on 8/10/2016 City Council Minutes - Final July 26, 2016 Upon motion by Vice Mayor Callahan and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 6:27 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full and true copy of the Regular Meeting Minutes of the Lake Havasu City Council held on the 26th day of July, 2016. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and posted, and that a quorum was present. ____________________________________ Kelly Williams, City Clerk/CMC Prepared By: ____________________________________ Sacia Graber, City Clerk Assistant/CMC Lake Havasu City Page 6 Printed on 8/10/2016