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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/01/2000 Regular Council Meeting MinutesIe PLACE AND DATE Marana Town Hall, February 1, 2000 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Bobby Sutton, Jr. at 7:01p.m. II. III. IV. V~ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Mayor Sutton INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE A moment of silence was observed. ROLL CALL COUNCIL Bobby Sutton, Jr. Mike Reuwsaat EdHonea Herb Kai Ora Mae Harn Roxanne Ziegler Jim Blake Mayor Vice Mayor Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Present Excused Present Present Present Present Present STAFF Michael Hein Dan Hochuli Jocelyn Entz Brad DeSpain Jane Howell David Smith Ken Lawrence Jim DeGrood Town Manager Town Attorney Town Clerk Utilities Director Human Resources Director Police Chief Parks & Recreation Director Development Services Center Administrator The list of public attendees is attached. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Upon motion by Council Member Ziegler, seconded by Council Member Honea, the agenda was approved 6/0. VI. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A. Minutes of Regular Council Meeting- January 18, 2000 Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Council Member Ziegler, the minutes for January 18, 2000 were approved 5/0. Council Member Harn abstained. She was not present at the January 18, 2000 Council meeting. VII. CALL TO THE PUBLIC/ANNOUNCEMENTS Bill Kazaros, Business Development Committee member, spoke regarding the Marana Foundation for Educational Excellence (MFEE). He briefly explained the primary focus of this nonprofit educational foundation. He said the purpose was to provide funding to instructional staff of the Marana Unified School District (MUSD) and that this funding allowed the MUSD teachers to fund special student projects. He invited everyone to a luncheon presentation highlighting future trends in Marana. This luncheon is planned for March 7, 2000, at 11:30 a.m., at the Heritage Highlands Clubhouse and will provide information concerning growth trends within the town, the school district and the region in general. He added that Mayor Sutton and Mr. Hein would be twO of the luncheon speakers. A handout containing this information has been made a part of this record. Matthew Molitor, a MUSD 8~ grade StUdent, spoke before the Council and asked for their support in helping him raise money for a civics class trip to Washington, D.C. He gave a brief summary of some of the methods he had used to raise $620 in funds so far for this trip. Mr. Molitor needs $1,070 total to meet his goal. Mayor Sutton advised Mr. Molitor to complete the necessary paperwork associated with the Youth Assistance Fund sponsored by the Town Council. He said that Jocelyn Entz, Town Clerk, would be happy to help him if he had any questions. Jane Howell, Human Resources Director, introduced four employees who had recently received certificates of training for completion of a Supervisors Academy held in Mesa, Arizona, once weekly for 14 weeks. This group of employees included Charlie Villescaz and Adrian Ramirez, both from Parks & Recreation; Larry Esparza from Public Works, and Joe Miller from Marana Municipal Water. In addition to his supervisory training, Ms. Howell congratulated Joe Miller for his commitment to advanced training within his field at Marana Municipal Water. Mr. Miller was awarded numerous certificates of training from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) over the past year. These ADEQ certificates included Wastewater Treatment 2, Wastewater Collection 2, Water Distribution 4, Water Treatment 2, and Backflow Prevention FEBRUARY 1, 2000 VIII. IX. Assembly Tester. Ms. Howell stated that he was at a standstill in terms of his water related schooling. Without having the practical experiences of either working in a treatment plant or installing a wastewater system, Mr. Miller had reached a stopping point in his coursework associated with his position in the water department. However, she stated that this fact did not deter Mr. Miller in his educational pursuits. She reported that he had also received certificates of training in Industrial Electricity I and II. Ms. Howell commended the department heads and supervisor who had supported these employees in their advanced training quests. They included Brad DeSpain, Jim DeGrood, Ken Lawrence, and Dennis Dolan. Council Member Harn asked that Ms. Howell relate her own recent accomplishments to the Council. Ms. Howell said that she had completed two Compensation Specialist classes and tests as well as a class and testing process certifying her as a Professional in Human Resources. This certification is the equivalent of the'first part of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Mayor Sutton congratulated the employees on their achievements. He urged all employees to take advantage of the educational opportunities'and benefits that are offered by the Town. Council Member Ziegler announced that the Marana Citizens Police Academy is scheduled to begin on February 16, 2000. She stated that she has registered for this course and urged ail interested parties to attend. She said that additional information could be obtained from Bill Derfus at the Marana Police Department. STAFF REPORTS, IF ANY There were no questions regarding the staff reports. GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS A. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Proclaiming that February 13 through February 19, 2000 is Marana Child Passenger Safety Week (Mike Hein) 2. Authorization for Police Department to Purchase Equipment with Anti-Racketeering Funds (Dave Smith) 3. Resolution No. 2000-15: Abandonment of the east 45 feet of public right-of-way along Sandario Road, as deeded to Pima County and recorded in Docket 4333 at Page 768. (Jim DeGrood) Upon motion made by Council Member Harn, seconded by Council Member Honea, the consent agenda was approved 6/0. B. COUNCIL ACTION 1. Resolution No. 2000-14: Advance Payment of Dues to the Greater Tucson Economic Council (Bobby Sutton, Jr.) Mayor Sutton said that Marana was fortunate to have this opportunity to help the Greater Tucson Economic Council (GTEC) in their efforts to hire National Community Development Services, Inc. (NCDS). He said that this fund raising company would provide services to assist GTEC in increasing their private funding. He stated that GTEC was the primary economic development agency for the Tucson metropolitan area and its primary funding sources were from the public sector. He explained that the Town's annual dues were $50,000 and that this advance payment of dues to GTEC would provide the necessary funding of acontract with NCDS. Robert Gonzalez, President and CEO of GTEC, explained that NCDS was the only company in the country that exclusively specialized in economic development and the promotion of local Chambers of Commerce. He stated that NCDS had conducted a preliminary study and found that the future looked very bright for GTEC. He said that GTEC had requested advance funding in the past from other members including Tucson Electric Power, Tucson Newspapers, Inc., and Bank One as well as from the City of Tucson. He added that Marana had been and continues to be the most promising area in Pima County. He expressed his pleasure in having the opportunity to partner with the Town on this venture. Mayor Sutton commented that he was looking forward to the benefits that this partnership with GTEC would bring to the Town. He was especially enthusiastic about the advantages that NCDS would provide for Marana in the development of the Marana Northwest Regional Airport (MNRA) and its surrounding area. Council Member Ziegler thanked Mr. Gonzales for his continuous promotion of Marana. She agreed with Mayor Sutton that this agreement with GTEC was very important as well as timely, particularly with the airport area being ready for commercial and industrial development. Mr. Gonzales commented that the MNRA area would be one of the major industrial parks in Pima County and that the' Town had done everything properly in the development of this area. He said that he had no doubt that Marana would continue to be an outstanding community within the Tucson metropolitan area. Council Member Harn stated her pride in Marana and in its Council. She said that this assistance to GTEC was an opportunity to show others that Marana was truly a unique and outstanding community and ready to do the right thing for the region. 4 ,. FEBRUARY 1, 2000 . Council Member Honea asked if GTEC was planning to expand their financial scope or if they were attempting to recoup some of the lost funding from Pima County. Mr. Gonzales responded that GTEC was in the process of updating its strategic economic plan as well as expanding its financial scope. He said that GTEC was the only economic recruiter in the worldwide market for the Tucson metropolitan area. He added that, nationally, 80% ofan area's efforts were concentrated on expanding existing companies such as Raytheon, OptiPower and Allied-Signal. He said that Arizona was different in that it primarily imported comPanies. ' He said that Pima County already had a nucleus of high-tech companies and that GTEC was working with the University of Arizona in the scientific and technical areas to help these existing companies expand. Mr. Gonzales commented that GTEC was becoming heavily involved with entrepreneur-ship and in creating spin-off companies as well as new companies. Regarding Marana, he said that business recruitment was the primary focus of GTEC, especially at the airport and industrial park sites. Upon motion by Council Member Harn, seconded by Council Member Ziegler, Resolution No. 2000-14 was approved 6/0. Selection Priorities for 2000 Community Development Block Grant Funding (CDBG) (Dan Groseclose) Council Member Harn filed a Statement of Agenda Conflict regarding this item and left the dais at 7:30 p.m. · . Mr. Hein stated that he had prioritized the applications associated with this item based upon consistency with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. He listed his suggested recommendations and said that some of the other project applications could possibly receive funding from the general Town budget. Mayor Sutton said that he was particularly interested in the Honea Heights Neighborhood Fire Hydrants project. He hoped that this project could be funded either through the CDBG program or from the Town's general funds. Council Member Ziegler asked if the safety lights for Honea Heights could be taken out of the general fund. Mr. DeGrood 'responded that they could and that several other methods of funding were available for this project as well. Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Council Member Kai, the Town Manager's recommended priority list of 2000 CDBG projects, as presented, was approved 6/0. ge Executive Session- Pursuant to A.R.S. 38-431.01 (A) (4) for discussion and consultation with Town Attorney in order to consider its position regarding litigation in the matter of Aegis vs. ToWn of Marana (Dan Hochuli) Upon motion by Council Member Blake, seconded by Council Member Honea, an executive session was approved 6/0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. The Council meeting reconvened from the executive session at 8:30 p.m. At this time, all members of the Council were present and seated on the dais. 4. Legislative Update (Mike Hein) Mr. Hein stated that he had nothing of major Significance to report except that the Hersla bill, initiated by Oro Valley, was progressing nicely. This bill was discussed at the last Council meeting and entailed the rights of municipalities to exchange restrictive federally funded monies for Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) monies that were available with far less regula .tions. C. Mayor and Council's Report Council Member Harn reported that the Joint Special Study Session with Pima County on January 31, 2000 went very well The Joint Pima County Cities meeting included Tucson, South Tucson, Sahuarita, Oro Valley and Marana. She commended Mayor Sutton for his eloquence in presiding over this meeting. She stated that the Pima Association of Governments (PAG) and Pima County had estimated the transportation needs of the Tucson metropolitan area to be approximately $8 billion. She commented that this was a much higher figure than she was previously aware of regarding this issue. She suggested adding, transportation issues in Pima County to the agenda for discussion at any future joint meetings and that countywide transportation projects, needs and funding sources required ongoing discussion. She reminded the Council that the Founders' Day VIP breakfast was scheduled for Saturday, March 11, 2000 and that she need an updated list of invitees. She said that she would distribute a draft list to each Council member for additions or corrections. She commented that the theme, "Marana On The Go", was appropriate. She said that the breakfast would be held at the Senior Center and would showcase the community, especially highlighting the Marana Northwest Regional Airport. Mayor Sutton reported that he was pleased to have had the opportunity to chair the joint study session with Pima County and that significant issues involving teamwork from the different jurisdictions had been discussed. He said that he would like to see more substantial issues on future agendas for joint meetings. X, The Mayor reported his attendance at the Celebration of Life ceremony for Town employee, Carla Singer, who passed away on January 6i 2000. Ms. Singer was a Planner I in the Planning and Zoning department. This ceremony was held in the Town Hall Monument Park on January 24, 2000. Many employees attended as well as the family and friends of Ms. Singer. Mayor Sutton expressed his appreciation to Jane Howell and Jocelyn Entz for the organization of this event. He also thanked Karl Horvath, a longtime Marana resident, for releasing a flock of birds into the sky during this tribute. Mayor Sutton commented that the dedicated park bench and native mesquite tree were perfect as remembrances of Ms. Singer. D. Manager's Report Mr. Hein reported that the annual "A' Mountain Cancer Walk was scheduled for Saturday, February 12, 2000, at 8:00 a.m. He said that the Town was sponsoring any employee who wished to participate in memory of Carla Singer. He said that it was a busy time of the year for the Town staff as the department budget process had begun. He said that the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) process was underway as well. ' FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Mayor Sutton asked that Council Member Harn's earlier request was added to the future agenda of the joint study session. Her request was for an ongoing discussion of countywide transportation issues at future meetings. In order to ensure that local issues from each jurisdiction became agenda topics, he asked that Town staff contact Tucson Council Member Fred Ronstadt and request that the designation of·a member from each jurisdiction's Council be made to .an agenda committee. Council Member Harn reported that she had been elected once again as Chairperson of the PAG Regional Council. The Mayor said that this fact had been reported at the last Council meeting and that he offered his congratulations on her accomplishment. He stated that Marana was proud of her and her high standing within this jurisdiction. XI. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Council Member Blake, adjournment was approved 6/0. The time was 8:30 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council meeting held on February 1, 2000. I further certify that a quorum was present. ~]'~celyn ~.En~z, Tow~ CI~