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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/25/2002 Study Session MinutesII. IV. PLACE AND DATE Marana Operations Center, June 25, 2002 CALL TO ORDER By Council Member Honea at 5:17 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Council Member Honea III. ROLL CALL .COUNCIL Bobby Sutton, Jr. Herb Kal Jim Blake Patti Comerford Tim Escobedo Ed Honea Carol McGorray Mayor Vice Mayor Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Excused Present Present Present Present Present Present STAFF Michael Hein Michael Reuwsaat Jocelyn Entz Town Manager Assistant Town Manager Town Clerk There were no public attendees present at this study session. For the record, Vice Mayor Kal was excused from the meeting until 5:20 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member Blake, the agenda was unanimously approved. MINUTES OF BUDGET sTUDY SESSION MARANA OPERATIONS CENTER JUNE 25, 2002 go GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS A. COUNCIL ACTION 1. Discussion/Presentation: New Town Hall complex (Jim DeGrood) Mr. Hein began the study session with a brief history of this project, stating that the new municipal complex was probably the biggest public infrastructure project undertaken by the Town in terms of staff resources as well as financial resources. He turned the meeting over to Jim DeGrood. Mr. DeGrood gave a lengthy presentation regarding the town hall land acquisition of 20 acres directly west of the present municipal building. He said that the sales agreement included that the seller would pay for the construction of a city-center roadway and the provision of a sufficient sewer system. He noted that the deadline for the provision of the sewer system had passed and that negotiations to bring that phase of the construction process up to date were ongoing. He continued by reviewing the information previously provided to the Council regarding this project. He said that linking to the public was critical and the city-center concept was evolving as the main design theme. He pointed out the different designs that were being considered for the public complex. These included a campus style design and an L-shaped, one-building design. He described various concepts available to the Town for use in surrounding public spaces and the impact of these designs on adjacent neighborhoods. He expressed the Town's desire to develop the surrounding roadways in a residentially-scaled mode with inviting, tree-lined streets and a small-town atmosphere. He noted that this type of design would be continued throughout the northwest Marana area up to the Marana/I-10 interchange. Mr. DeGrood continued the presentation by speaking about the physical constraints facing this project in regard to drainage and the existing irrigation canat~ystems. He described a series of culverts located just S6uth of Barneet Road on the 1-10 frontage road and the problems associated with water overflow discharging into the roadway and causing dangerous driving conditions for motorists. He said that this particular area had recently undergone renovations to elevate the roadway, thus eliminating most of the standing water problems along the frontage road. Council Member Comerford inquired about the street con.figuration planned for the Grier Road neighborhood. Mr. DeGrood replied that a simplified traffic plan for the neighborhood was necessary in order to accommodate the anticipated future increase in traffic through the town-center area. Mr. Hein interjected that Mr. Reuwsaat had recently gone door-to-door in the established Grier neighborhood to speak with the individual homeowners about their concerns regarding the road alignment as well the proposed affordable housing complex slated for construction within that area. He reported that the principal property owner associated with the road alignment, the Rheyer family, was in favor of the roadway plans and, in fact, was interested in selling the property. Mr. Flein continued by remarking that the Town intended meet with all of the homeowners in a public forum and find out what the residents wanted for their neighborhood in terms of amenities such as sound barriers and buffers, sidewalks, the movement of the alignment to the north of the proposed site, and for the Town to address the drainage issues related to the area's roadways. He added that the desires of the resident were probably in dose concert with the engineers' vision. He pointed out that there was not 100% favor of the proposed plans but that the majority of the homeowners were in approval. Mr. Reuwsaat asserted that drainage was the most important concern of the residents. He said that several of the houses were flooded during some of the heavier rainy periods and the homeowners feared that this situation would worsen with the development of the surrounding area. A general discussion followed regarding the under-development of the culvert system along 1-10, the assorted drainage and access issues solutions available to the Town for this area, town core transportation improvements associated with drainage and water, and containment of the Santa Cruz River floodwaters. Mr. DeGrood provided handouts to the Council which included maps and design illustrations of the town core area. These irfformational sheets have been made a permanent part of this record. There were some genera/questions about the aspects of the planning process and particular proposals, including the future of the cotton gin building. Council Member Blake stated that he was under the impression that the cotton gin building would be the gateway entrance building to the town core. Mr. Hein acknowledged that all of the map alignments showed this building as the entranceway to the town center. ~ OF BUDGET Mr. DeGrood explained that the architectural design for the town center had evolved over the past year and that the roadway access to the municipal complex had emerged as a circular type entranceway. He said that all of the department heads had been involved in the decision making process regarding their proposed office areas and space quotas. Mr. Hein added that, over the past year and a hall many changes in the municipal complex planning had occurred. He urged everyone to visit and tour the new Trico Electric Cooperative comp/ex that was ~ecently completed on Tangerine Road. He stated that it was a good example of a well-planned facility with plenty of growing room for future expansion as he envisioned for the new municipal complex. He indicated that a fall groundbreaking timeframe for the new town hall was not unrealistic. Council Member Escobedo asked about personnel placement and department location with the new facility. Mr. Hein replied that the floor plan concept was continuing to evolve but that he anticipated the majority of the departments and employees to be located in the muniplex. He acknowledged that it was difficult to manage multiple locations because of the different work ethics, philosophies, and modes of communication. He expressed his desire to have as many of the Town's employees located at Town Hall as possible. Council Member Blake questioned the space allocations for the facility and commented that, with steady growth in the development of the region, coupled with Town staffing to meet the es~dents needs, the proposed building would be at capacity when first occupied. He commented that this was not in keeping with plans to utilize the new space for the next 25 years. Mr. Hein answered that ful!-staffing growth would occur in spurts in conjunction with the region s development and that, over the next five to ten years, the Town would place additional personnel, such as full in-house attorneys and purchasing personnel, into the vacant areas indicated on the illustrations. Mr. DeGrood told the Council that the planning committee's expectation was to have unfinished space within the municipal building that would accommodate the Town's needs through 2010. He corrfirmed that interior spaces would be filled within this timeframe. He added that by 2010, additional court space would be warranted. Several attendees asked if future expansion of the building could be made horizontally via additional floors and what types of materials would be used in the complex's framework. Mr. DeGrood replied that the architectural designs were at a stage where the contractor could be brought into the process and structural systems could be discussed and evaluated for cost effectiveness. Tim Allen, Public Works Project Coordinator, said that horizontal expansion was a realistic option. A general consensus of the attendees was that a definite limit to the height of the building did exist. Mr. DeGrood went on to explain other avenues of expansion within the 20+ acre site including additional buildings and then proceeded to inform the Council of the various types of materials such as natural stone or stucco that were available for use. The discussion flowed into the total budget forecast for the municipal complex and it was approximated at $120 per square foot excluding the furnishings which were estimated to be equal to the cost of the complex. The next topic of discussion was the selection process for the construction contractor and it was determined would make that a five-member selection committee that decision after reviewing submitted information, checking references, and interviewing the applicants. The committee is to contain at least one registered architect or engineer and one licensed construction contractor. The other three members could be whomever the Town wished to place on the committee. Mr. Hein remarked that a monthly progress report on the town core design, style options and construction would be distributed to the Town Council. 5 _ADIOURNMENT Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member McGorray, unanimous approval to adjourn was passed. The time was 7:04 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council study session held on June 25, 2002. I further certify that a quorum was present. 6