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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/15/2000 Regular Council Meeting MinutesIe PLACE AND DATE Marana Town Hall, February 15, 2000 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Bobby Sutton, Jr. at 7:05p.m. II. III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Mayor Sutton INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE Given by Vice Mayor Reuwsaat IV. ROLL CALL V~ COUNCIL Bobby Sutton, Jr. Mayor Present Mike Reuwsaat Vice Mayor Present Ed Honea Council Member Present Herb Kal Council Member Present Ora Mae Harn Council Member Present Roxanne Ziegler Council Member Present Jim Blake Council Member Present STAFF Michael Hein Dan Hochuli Jocelyn Entz Brad DeSpain Roy Cuaron Jim DeGrood Sandy Groseclose Town Manager Town Attorney Town Clerk Utilities Director Finance Director Development Services Administrator Community Events & Programs Manager The list of public attendees is attached. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Upon motion by Council Member Harn and seconded by Council Member Honea, the agenda was approved 6/0. Council Member Blake left the dais at 7:07 p.m. and was not present for this vote. MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL FEBRUARY 15, 2000 VI. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A. Minutes of Regular Council Meeting- February 1, 2000 Upon motion by Council Member Kai and seconded by Council Member Ziegler, the minutes for February 1, 2000 were approved 5/0 with one abstention. Vice Mayor Reuwsaat abstained because he was not present at the February 1, 2000 meeting. Council Member Blake was not present for this vote. He returned to the dais at 7:08 p.m. VII. CALL TO THE PUBLIC/~NOUNCEMENTS Troy Mattson, an 8m grader from Marana Junior High, spoke before the Council regarding a civics class trip to visit Washington, D.C. in the spring. He asked for help from the Town Council's Youth Assistance Fund with his expenses for this trip. Leilani Schisler, longtime Marana resident, stated that a fund raising raffle was in progress and that the proceeds would be used to help Troy Mattson and Matthew Molitor, another Marana student, with the funds for this trip. Ms. Schisler explained that she is now associated with the Marana Chamber of Commerce and has a non-profit tax status in regard to her fundraising efforts. VIII. IX. Jim DeGrood introduced a new employee, Marshall Beaty. Mr. Beaty recently joined the Town staff as a Traffic Analyst and has over 32 years' experience in this field. STAFF REPORTS, IF ANY There were no questions regarding the staff reports. GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS A. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Resolution No. 2000-16: Appointment to the Town of Marana Business Advisory Committee (Roy Cuaron) 2. Resolution No. 2000-17: Adoption of Investment Policy and Procedures (Roy Cuaron) 3. Resolution No. 2000-19: Approving the Final Block Plat for Continental Reserve consisting of 20 blocks on approximately 600 acres located within the Pima Farms Specific Plan in portions of Sections 28 and.33, Township 12 South, Range 12 East, Parcel numbers 221-21-7A and 221-26-4A submitted by Continental Reserve, LLC (Joel Shapiro) Upon motion by Vice Mayor Reuwsaat, seconded by Council Member Blake, the consent agenda was approved 7/0. B. COUNCIL ACTION Presentation by Tom Swanson, Executive Director of Pima Association of Governments (PAG) and Melaney Seacot, Public Participation Manager, PAG, regarding Census 2000 (Sandra L. Groseclose) Mr. Hein gave a brief introduction for this item and focused on the importance to Marana of an accurate census count. He said that Governor Hull's Growing Smarter Commission had named Marana as the fastest growing community in Arizona. He emphasized that it was crucial for every area resident to be counted so that the Town would be eligible to receive the full benefit of the State's shared revenues. He reported that he and Mr. Cuaron had been having significant discussions about revenue forecasting for the next 5 to 10 year periods and concluded by reiterating that the census count was imperative in that regard. He introduced Melaney Seacat, PAG Public Participation Manager, and turned the discussion over to Ms. Seacat. Ms. Seacat presented the Council with an informational folder containing various Census 2000 brochures and fact sheets. One of these folders has been made a permanent part of this record. She stated that PAG had authorized the establishment of the Complete Count Committee in February 1999. She said that the committee consisted of representatives from each jurisdiction and community organizations as well as State legislators' offices such as Congressman Pastor and Senator McCain. She commented that the committee was truly a community driven effort. Ms. Seacat continued her presentation by giving a brief summary of the census taking procedures and pinpointed some of the local issues associated with the census such as new developments, trailer parks without individual addresses, and gated communities that may prohibit entry to the census takers. Ms. Seacat related that Pima County had the second lowest improvement success rate in the nation for census taking and that the 2000 campaign's focus on publicity would be a big factor in correcting this history of inaccurate counts. She listed the major areas of campaign concentration that the regional effort would institute. The list included a mass media campaign utilizing print advertisement as well as television and radio public service announcements. This media campaign will be in English as well as Spanish. Additionally, Census 2000 presentations and information distributions are planned for the schools in order to promote school participation and bring kids onboard. Area churches have been urged to get involved and outreach efforts are underway to the rural health care systems and business community. FEBRUARY 15, 2000 Council Member Harn said that a technical assistance station would be set up at the Marana Health Center. This station will provide assistance to community residents who require help with reading and filling out the census forms. Council Member Harn commended Sandy Groseclose for her outstanding efforts in keeping the Marana Health Center, the Marana schools and the community informed about the Census 2000 campaign. Ms. Groseclose represents Marana on the Census 2000 Complete Count Committee. Council Member Harn said that two local efforts planned for the near future are census information booths at the March 11th Founders' Day festivities and at the Fourth of July celebration. 2. Resolution No. 2000-18: Accepting and authorizing the execution of an intergovernmental agreement between the Town of Marana and the City of Tucson to settle litigation and provide for cooperation in management of water storage and recovery mechanisms. (Dan Hochuli) Mr. Hein briefly outlined the history of the resolution effort regarding the managed recharge program. He commended Dan Hochuli and Brad DeSpain for their efforts in the negotiating process with the City of Tucson. Mr. DeSpain stated that he believed that this intergovernmental agreement was beneficial to both parties and provided a framework for joint cooperation in storage and recovery of effluent within the Town's limits. He gave a brief explanation of the agreement. Mr. Hein said that Tucson had protested a joint project that Marana has with Pima County and he asked Mr. DeSpain if the City was obligated by the IGA to drop this protest. Mr. DeSpain replied that this condition was not included in the IGA. However, he said that the City was planning a mee6ng regarding this matter and was expected to drop the high plane objection. Mayor Sutton commended the Town staff, for their diligent efforts and their innovative solutions to the managed recharge problems with the City of Tucson. Although the Town was unsuccessful in getting everything it wanted, he said that the negotiations did produce an objection-type process fOr the Town. He said that he was very proud of the entire negotiation effort and the spirit of cooperation that was displayed. Vice Mayor Reuwsaat reiterated the Mayor's commendation for the staff and added that he believed this to be an exciting time for Marana in regard to its most major issue. FEBRUARY 15, 2000 He said that each step forward for the Town will be beneficial in the planning of future resources such as the water and the effluent. Council Member Harn stated that each entity finally realized that a mutual cooperation from all of the jurisdictions was essential in order to successfully resolve the valley's water issues. Upon motion by Council Member Kai, seconded by Council Member Honea, Resolution No. 2000-18 was approved 7/0. . Ordinance No. 2000.02 - Central 1-10 Annexation: Consideration and approval of an annexation comprising an approximate 2.6 mile strip along the Interstate corridor treading northwest from the vicinity of. Cortaro Road. The annexation incorporates the Interstate 10 and Union Pacific rights-of-way crossing through Sections 15, 22, 23, 26 and 27, Township 12 South, Range 12 East, Gila and Salt River Meridian, Pima County, Arizona. (Dick Gear) Mr. Hein explained that this item was the final step in the 1-10 annexations that were crucial in getting the interstate traffic citations into the Marana Court. Upon motion by Council Member Honea and seconded by Council Member Harn, Ordinance No. 2000.02 was approved 7/0, e Resolution No. 2000-20: Request for a Special Event Liquor License - request by applicant, Kelle M. Maslyn, on behalf of the Marana Chamber of Commerce for the issuance of a special event liquor license (Sandra L. Groseclose) Mr. Hein briefly commented that. this item involved two requests. The first request was for the approval of a special event liquor license and the second was to waive the $25 application fee. Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Vice Mayor Reuwsaat, Resolution No. 2000-20 was approved 7/0. 5. State Legislative Issues - Discussion/Directio~Action regarding all pending bills before the Legislature (Mike Hein) Michael Racy, state legislative consultant, spoke before the Council and said that the legislative sessions were moving along very rapidly but that the quality of the legislation was somewhat suspect.. He briefly outlined several pieces of legislation that are being heard in the State House and Senate including SB 1001 and SCR 1001, growing smarter plus; HB 2182, stored water; recovery wells; HB 2235, government 5 property tax exemption; and HCR 2008, voter approval: indebtedness. public expenditures; Council Member Ham voiced her concerns with the number of legislators being lost because of term limits and the fact that many of these lawmakers were being replaced with new legislators who were. not familiar with the issues of concern to Marana. She asked for Mr. Racy's opinion of thiS dile ..mma. Mr. Racy replied that he shared her cOncerns. He commented that there had been a substantial turnover in the Arizona legislature each year for the last three election cycles. Mayor Sutton inquired about the sales tax uniformity legislation. Mr. Racy explained that there were two bills on this issue in the House and the Senate. He said that he did not expect either of the bills to make it through the legislative process. Both of these bills deal with the differences in the local sales taxes. He said that a number of business community members felt that this legislation forced municipalities to accept the State tax code. He acknowledged that the League of Arizona Cities and Towns had been working hard on this legislation. He said that if this legislation were adopted then the items not taxed by the State would not be allowable for taxation by the municipalities. He said that these bills did not affect the individual cities and towns tax rates. He stated his belief that a small part of a municipality's control and flexibility over sales taxes would be lost but that the majority of control would be retained. Council Member Honea asked about legislation regarding annexation and incorporation. Mr. Racy reported that four incorporation bills were introduced into the legislative process and although several had received many hearings, none had proceeded to the floor for a vote. He said that he did not believe any of the current versions of these bills would be passed. He stated that an effort to craft an exemption to the organized area statute was under way. If a community met certain area and population thresholds then they would qualify for an exemption within the urbanized area and could proceed with incorporation. He said that this exemption would aid Casas Adobes in their incorporation efforts but that Tortolita would probably not qualify under the exemption. He explained that Tortolita would 'have to start over with a fresh incorporation effort. Vice Mayor Reuwsaat inquired about the status of land that had been set aside by the Arizona Conservation Reserve. He asked if these properties would be used by the State MARANA TOWN HALL ~'~: ~ FEBRUARY 15, 2000 for their own mitigation or would they be available as credits for mitigation by the private sector and public entitiesl He also requested that Mr. Racy provide the Council with a more definitive map of these properties.. ~ Mr. Racy responded that the State had considered this legislation but that it was simply setting aside the properties for now. He explained that the community could make application and purchase those lands at their appraised value less any development value. He estimated the cost to be around $.10 on the dollar. He said that his assumption was that if a community made application and purchased the lands, then they would have absolute control to use them for mitigation purposes. 6. Pima Association of Governments Management Committee (Mike Hein) Mr. Hein reported on several of the significant agenda items that were of a local concern including the 208 Planning. He said that the Doerkin/La Mirage project was passed unanimously by PAG and would be forwarded to the PAG Regional Council with a recommendation for approval. He stated that he thought this was a positive move for the future of Marana. He applauded Pima County for providing innovative solutions that made this project a win-win situation for all. Council Member Harn presented the Mayor with a check for $9,412.75 from the Local Transportation Assistance Fund. These funds were a result of the Legislature having passed the transit-funding source. C. Mayor and Council's Report Council Member Ziegler reported that the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) was looking for three new members. She encouraged businesses to participate in the community by serving as a member of this committee. She stated that she had attended a meeting with Diamond Key Homes regarding the Gladden property development and that she had taken two facility tours with Karl Horvath, a longtime Marana resident. One tour was of the newly renovated and expanded Marana Health Center. Council Member Ziegler said that the .c .hanges were impressive and she commended Council Member Harn for her hard Work in acquiring the necessary funding for the health clinic renovations. The other tour was of the Marana Senior Center. While visiting with the senior citizens, she learned that they wanted to purchase a video camera for their use at the Center. Council ~ Member Ziegler stated that she had made funding arrangements and the video camera would be presented to them shortly. Council Member Harn said that she had been working with Sandy Groseclose on the planning of the Founders' Day 2000 VIP breakfast and the Census 2000. She also reported that there would be a blood drive, a silent auction and a health fair during X~ XI. ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the Marana Health Center on March 31, 2000. She encouraged everyone to attend. D. Manager's Report There was no report. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Vice Mayor Reuwsaat requested that a workshop be scheduled in order to discuss numerous Town projects planned for 2000. He said that he wanted to prioritize these projects and to discuss how to expedite their completion. These projects included Continental Reserve items, the CIP and~2000 budget, the impact fee process, the northwest region plan, the Santa Cruz River plan an.d the Marana Northwest Regional Airport projects. ,. Jocelyn Entz announced that a group of students from Marana High School's Future Farmers of America (FFA) were working hard on building the Town's float entry for the Tucson Rodeo Parade, La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros. The parade will be held on Thursday, February 24, 2000. This group has worked on the Town's parade floats for the past three years and most of them will be graduating from high school this year. She said that the FFA students invited the Council members to ride on this float in the parade. Council Member Ziegler commented that the Marana Health Center needed a paved parking lot. She requested that an item be placed on a future agenda regarding an allocation for $50,000 from the contingency fund for this purpose. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Vice Mayor Reuwsaat, seconded by Council Member Honea, adjournment was approved 7/0. The time was 8:13 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council meeting held on February 15, 2000. I further certify that a quorum was present.