HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/27/1998 Special Council Meeting MinutesII.
III.
IV.
JANUARY 27, 1998
Marana Town Hall, January 27, 1998
CALL TO ORDER
By Vice Mayor Sutton at 6:06 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Led by Vice Mayor Sutton
COUNCIL
Ora Harn
Bobby Sutton, Jr.
Ed Honea
Herb Kal
Sherry Millner
Michael Reuwsaat
Roxanne Ziegler
Mayor, excused
Vice Mayor
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member, excused
Council Member
STAFF
Hurvie Davis
Jocelyn Entz
Dan Hochuli
Sandy Groseclose
Jane Johnson
Roy Cuaron
Dave Smith
Brad DeSpain
Joel Svoboda
Jerry Flannery
Dave After
Steve Nygren
Town Manager
Asst. to Town Manager
Town Attorney
Town Clerk
Human Resources Director
Finance Director
Chief of Police
Utilities Director
Chief Building Official
Planning Director/Annexing
Town Engineer
Architect Consultant
APPROVAL OFAGENDA
A motion was made by Ed Honea, seconded by Herb Kal, to approve the
agenda, as written. The motion carried 5/0.
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Munici_oal Facility Sitine_ - Presentations By Owners and Discussion of
Alternatives
Vice Mayor Sutton: The ground rules for tonight are that we will draw out of a
hat, or whatever is available, to determine what order the presenters will present.
They will have 15 minutes for each presentation and then it will be opened up to
Council questions.
JANUARY 27 1998
Hurvie Davis: As you know, with continued growth in our community, the Town
has had to grow in many areas, especially staff, to meet the needs of our
community. Some staff is in Town Hall and some is in the Development Center
and some is in the Police Department modular building. We are at the point
where we do not have any room for expansion as we continue to grow. It is very
critical that we have a well planned Municipal Facility. The facility should be
more than just a government office that is open from 8:00 - 5:00. We have
established a facilities planning committee made up of staff, headed by Mr. Atler.
They have been doing an excellent job at advancing this issue. Originally, we
had a number of sites. On December 2nd, Mayor and Council narrowed it down
to four potential sites. Tonight's meeting has been called to give the parties
interested in providing land to the Town for the Municipal Complex an
opportunity to make presentations to the Council. There are three possible
options for the Council this evening. One would be to select a location which the
Council feels best suits the needs of the Town of Marana. Second would be to
select two locations for further discussion. Third would be to defer the decision
until the Council collects more information.
Dave After: I believe there are only two proposers present, this evening. Mr.
Wexler will be presenting the Lon Adams/Barnett property. Mr. Terry Klipp will
be presenting Tangerine Road #1, located north of Tangerine Road just east of
the freeway. The other two properties, which are not represented this evening,
are the Hum property, off of Grier near the school, and the Tangerine Road #2
property, located on the south side of Tangerine near Breakers. There is a bowl
with all four names and since there is only two presenters here, we will draw until
one of those two comes up and that one will go first.
Ed Cook drew the names, Greg Wexler will present first.
Greg Wexler, S.V.P. Property: We hold this property as several different
partnerships, primarily the Reyher Partnership, 1261 West Payton Place. Briefly,
about ten years ago we built the present Town Hall and we donated the land that
the Town Hall is on. We met with a format similar to tonight and set forth the
proposal. Ora Harn was the only one on the Council, at that time, that is on the
Council today. Today, we are interested in pursuing that partnership and we
hope that you will consider staying here. We have reassessed our proposal from
last time. Some maps have been included in our exhibit. Presently the Town
Hall is located on about an acre of land which we donated last time. We wish to
expand that donation to give another 3 acres of land. We are under the
impression that you want another 20 acres, so there would be an additional 17
acres which we would like to sell, on a series of rolling options, at $20,000 per
acre. The price would increase annually. Additionally, we are in a position, if
you wish, to build you a new Municipal Facility. You could tell us what you want
and we would develop it and lease it back to you. This is what we did for you
last time. We would look forward to building you a very nice facility, something
you would be proud of. We would expect you to stay there for a reasonable
period of time and it would be set up on a lease that the Town would sign. We
could build this over the next few years or right now. Or, if you wish to purchase
the land from us, we would sell it to you. The initial purchase would be a
minimum of 3 acres, which would be $60,000. At that time, we would give you
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MARANA TOWN COUNCIL
JANUARY 27, 1998
an additional 3 acres, which equates to 6 acres at $10,000 per acre. There after,
it would be $20,000 per acre. If you wish to lease the land from us, we will do
that. If you need more than 20 acres, we will sell you more. If you need less
than 20 acres, we will sell you less. We have been in town for some time and we
have worked with the community and the Council. We are one of the main
developers of Continental Ranch. We have a big investment in this community
and wish to continue that partnership. One of the maps provided shows our
other holdings in the area. We have 100 acres surrounding Town Hall. We
would plan with the Planning and Engineering Department to build a partnership
in this land. We have an option on Tommy Clark's farm across the street. We
did own that at one time and we renegotiated it when the market fell apart. We
still have an option to purchase that, which is in effect. We also own 154 acres
at the corner of Sandario and BarnetFMoore and Sandario. Now that the bank
protection is being put in place, we see the area changing in complexion. The
drainage system could be developed into a golf course, like at Continental
Ranch. The other map is what we envision to happen around the Town Hall.
With the park where it is, we envision the present Town Hall to be an auxiliary
building, like Fine Arts. We would envision an open area adjacent to the new
Town Hall that would tie into the park and create a plaza for different functions.
Additionally, we see other future governmental uses, either owned by you or
leased from us. We would then take the 100 acres around it and develop a
community and pedestrian network that would tie together. We would also look
at the area to the south, the Clark farm, and tie it into a whole community. We
feel the Town Hall is in a very good location. The cost of development would not
be that expensive because the infrastructure is already here, at least within a
very short distance. It would cost $200,000 to bring in the sewer line. There
would be participation by adjacent property owners, including ourselves, so the
Town would not be looking at the entire cost. There is already water lines,
roads, parks, post office and library adjacent to the Town Hall. This is a very
good area. As far as the other sites, primarily those on Tangerine, we have
passed out some photographs for comparison. There is a tremendous amount
of hydrology work necessary for that area. It does not have any other
community infrastructure, like in the Lon Adams/Barnett area. You would be
starting out in a virgin area. The advantage you have in the Lon Adams/Barnett
area is that you already have the facilities mentioned a moment ago and we
would be a big participant in seeing the area develop. If you have any questions
I am open for them now, or later in the meeting.
Herb Kai: One of the Council's concerns is visibility and accessibility of the
present site. Do you have any envisions or plans where we could improve the
access to the Town Hall?
Greg Wexler: What we have always thought is that at some point in time we
would tie in the Town Hall with a network of read systems, making the roads
boulevards, and have the Town Hall as the focal point. We believe the access is
really pretty good. The interchange is at Marana and the interstate. As these
larger properties come on line, there will be requirements to the developer to
enlarge these roads. We will be involved in enlarging these roads as we start to
develop. Or, if the Town does it, maybe there would be a credit that they would
get so when we come back in later, we could reimburse the Town. Right now,
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MARANA TOWN COUNCIL
JANUARY 27, 1998
from the Marana interchange you come down Sandario to Moore Road to here.
The other access is off of the frontage road and down Barnett to here. As far as
visibility, we envisioned developing some type of architectural theme, a
monument or steeple, or a four or five story office building visible from various
points in Marana. I can't put you right on the freeway, it is not possible.
Ed Honea: Nice presentation. I am concerned about one of the requirements
that you want to put on this facility. I, personally, am not interested in leasing.
The Town has appropriated money to buy a piece of property, enough that we
could buy your property outright. What I am concerned with is the same thing
that was a problem with this facility. The twenty-five year guarantee that the
Town Hall would be located on this site. I have a problem with that. If we buy
your site, and ten to twelve years from now, we expand to 100,000 people and
we decide to split to provide services to the people, we would not be able to with
a twenty-five year guarantee. If we need to expand, we should be able to turn
the building over to a specific area of operation and move the municipality to a
more functional location to serve the people.
Greg Wexler: If I can respond to that, forget that part.
Ed Honea: Thank you. That was my main problem. The only other thing is the
infrastructure requirements. You show a loop roadway through the property.
Greg Wexler: This is a conceptual idea, not a commitment for you or I.
Because it is one large 100 acre piece, you need to start developing a circulation
pattern. We thought a loop would be a good idea.
Ed Honea: What I am getting at is that you have a good piece of property and a
good location, but I don't want to fie the hands of the Town, or Councils after us.
If we buy the property, wherever it may be, we have the advantage to work with
the development community around it to tie it in and make it feasible. As far as
an architectural theme and requirements, we will build a facility that we are proud
of. I really do not want an outside entity dictating the architectural theme of our
facility. The Council and staff should dictate that. If we say, O.K. we will buy
your property, we should have the right to do whatever we want with the
property, without any strings attached. Technically, we could build a fairly large
facility and put it on an industrial septic for 10 years, if we needed to. So, I don't
want anything saying we guarantee to put some kind of infrastructure, loop or
architecture in. I don't like agreements where we obligate ourselves to do things
down the road. We want to do things to be advantageous to the people. I think
the concept is pretty good and you did a good job on your presentation, but I
don't want to see a bunch of strings attached.
Greg Wexler: I can understand what you are talking about. Where we were
going was to have a partnership with the Town of Marana in developing an
overall theme. Not just for the Town area but for the whole community, the
Rancho Marana Plan. We were not looking to tie strings, we were looking to
have a participation with the Planning Department and the Council to have a
good circulation plan. We could work in unison to have something to be proud of
in the future. We are not trying to tie it to architecture. That was just a concept
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to get your appetite started. Forget about the loop read, we just think that our
expertise would be advantageous to you. Even if it is just input, we could give
you some good ideas. Having us involved in the development and design would
help make this area that much more attractive for other businesses and
residential development.
Ed Honea: I agree. I just don't want to give Ranch Holdings veto power over
what the Town does if we buy the property. I agree that if we buy your property,
we should work together, it would be beneficial to both parties. I am just trying to
eliminate an outside veto power over property owned by the Town.
Greg Wexler: When we put up the funds to build this Town Hall, we did not get
involved at all in the design. I think what we are all looking for is an end product
that we will all be proud of. One of the advantages to dealing with us is we are
developers and we have a track record here. We have other properties here, we
will be here long term, and I think we have done a pretty good job in Town, so
far.
Roxanne Ziegler: I want to remind everyone that this is not a debate, it is a
study session. This Town Hall, wherever it is placed, will not be dictated by
seven people on this Council. I want that to be a very strong point. This Town
Hall will be paid for by the taxpayers of Marana and will not be dictated by
anyone sitting up here. It is the people who are going to live in this town. It is
going to be what makes sense for this town and what is right for this town. As
for your development, if you look back into the books you passed out, I think that
we need the guidance on what we are going to do. I have asked it of the
gentlemen presenting after you. I don't think any of us up here are real estate
developers or architectural. I don't think we have ever taken on such a large
task as building a Town Hall. I find it very intimidating because I don't know a lot
about it, I am learning. I think we would appreciate any help your company, or
the gentlemen who are about to present, could give us. However, as Council
member Honea said, I don't feel that our hands should be tied. It is the people's
money and the Town's money and we will do what is right with it.
Sherry Millner: I am concerned about how close the houses you plan to build
will be to Town Hall. You are going to build a whole community and I am
concerned that there will not be any room to grow and Town Hall will be sitting
amongst a bunch of houses. Looking at other cities, wherever the Town Hall is,
businesses grow from there. How far are we going to have? You talked about a
golf course, I would rather see businesses rather than a golf course and houses.
This town needs business.
Greg Wexler: In our master plan for Rancho Marana, we have approximately
1200 meters (1/4 mile) and about 40 or 50 acres surrounding Town Hall on three
corners. You are looking at quite a reasonable area to be developed,
considering you are on one acre, now. In a design/planning session with Town
staff, we would take a look at some of that criteria to make sure there is enough
land reserved for expansion for Town Hall or other governmental uses. It is our
intent to see this area developed just like yours. We have a large investment
here and we have had most of these lands for over ten to twelve years. We are
already in Marana in a big way and we wish to expand our horizons. If the bank
protection had been in, we would have already started to develop this area.
When we bought the property, we thought that was going to go in about three
years. It has been about twelve to fifteen years now. We have reserved the 20
acre piece, and about another 30 acres, for commercial and professional uses.
Then we have a loop road with retail/specialty shops and then a multi-family
transition into detached housing, like Continental Ranch. On the south portion,
we would envision keeping the intersection as the Town center. Because of the
drainage off of the Tortolita Mountains, we have to handle it as it comes
underneath the freeway, it comes through our property. As that happens, we
decided to design a golf course that would act as detention basins to hold all of
the water. We would be looking at a pretty substantial piece of land so you
would have another 150 acres here and another 50 or so acres of park. There is
a lot of extra land. The other partner of our property is the developer of Gray
Hawk, a 2400 acre community in Scottsdale. It has two golf courses and a third
under construction.
Roxanne Ziegler: Is there any thing else you could do, besides a golf course, to
retain the water from the flow off the Tortolitas?
Greg Wexler: It could be designed as a park, dirt or gravel. It is a pretty
substantial amount of water.
Roxanne Ziegler: Dave was telling me about the water coming down on the
other side of the freeway. I don't know that we want another golf course.
Greg Wexler: Golf courses, like the one we built in Continental Ranch, are used
for several things besides recreation. They bring income to the Town, they
provide a base for other recreational businesses and it would be our detention
basin. Our properties are all agricultural lands with quite a few grandfather water
rights. We would actually be using less water if we went with a golf course and
retired the agricultural land. We also have effluent in the irrigation channels. It is
possible that this property could use effluent or CAP water. We would just have
to work something out with the Cortaro Water User's Association.
Terry Klipp, President of Terramar Properties, 220 East River Road, #105: I
have given you a handout which summarizes the proposal that we made to Dave
Atler in December. The property at Tangerine Road and 1-10 originally consisted
of 200 acres which I sold to Mr. Hayt and Mr. Harper twenty-five years ago.
Twenty years ago, we were probably the first annexation into the new Town of
Uarana. We have been in Marana ever since, We received the request for
proposal from Dave Atler and the planning committee. Prior to making this
proposal, I met with Dave to understand what the Town's desires were for a site.
The basic thing I came away from that first meeting with was that the Town was
looking for a site that could serve the future of Marana. Marana having annexed
areas to the south and now is a community that spans quite a wide area is why
we decided to go ahead and make a proposal. Tangerine Road and 1-10 is an
area that, in the next five to ten years, will grow rapidly. When we were talking
about the site in the first meeting, there was discussion about it being an area
that would be very centric for the Town facilities, in twenty-five years from now.
The proposal is not to sell the Town property, is to donate 20 acres to the Town.
The Town pumhased right-of-way through the property to realign Tangerine
Road. The site initially proposed was the site at the west boundary of the 20
acres. After talking to Dave and some of the staff, it was felt that a site that far
west might have some access problems down the road due to ramping on
Tangerine Road, We moved the site over far enough so if there ever was
ramping on the read, access to the site would not be a problem. The entire
acreage on the north portion of Tangerine Road is about 145 acres. The site
itself, represented here, is about 20 acres. It has not been surveyed yet, but the
east and west boundary can be fixed and the north boundary fluctuated to
determine exactly 20 acres. Again, that 20 acres would be donated to the Town.
There is some reason and motivation on our part for this donation. With the
Town building in that area, it was mentioned in the first meeting, it would create
economic development in the area. By building a facility in this area, it will
require bringing water and sewer, and other utilities, to the property. As a result
of that, there are other properties in the area that development could be started
to create the economic development the Town is interested in creating.
Additionally, there is other land available. It was felt that 20 acres was going to
be needed for the complex itself. Possibly, there may be a need for a park.
There is probably another 125 acres available for purchase, after the 20 acres is
donated. There was a study done for the Town for the cost of infrastructure to
serve these properties. David Evans and Associates, in Tucson, did that study.
I have looked at it and the estimates anticipated water and sewer going about 4
miles up to Dove Mountain Road. The sewer, in particular, through a pressure
main for 4 miles, had a substantial cost, over $600,000. It is our feeling that it is
not advantageous to the Town to spend that kind of money on sewer. Also,
because of all of the State land north of Tangerine Road, it is not benefiting
anyone except the site being built and maybe some sites south of Tangerine
Road. Pima County frowns on pressure mains and pump stations, because of
maintenance. Water won't be as big a problem because gravity won't play as big
a part. We have talked to other property owners in the area and a 208 permit
has been approved for a sewage facility up on the Doerken property.
Discussions have also taken place for a proposed loop roadway to connect
Tangerine with Grief and possibly up to Marana Road. The Town, I think is
interested in this happening because of ADOT's movement to make the frontage
roads one way. The loop road idea to connect Tangerine Road with the other
properties between the freeway and railroad right-of-way and the CAP canal
would be advantageous to the Town, as far as bringing economic growth east of
the freeway. As far as future planning, we would be happy to work with you. We
have a lot of development background in Tucson, we have been developing real
estate in Tucson for over twenty-five years. We have probably developed 80-85
residential subdivisions in that time and we have worked with all of the major
engineering firms in town. We would be more than happy to work with the Town
to plan the area for the complex at Tangerine Road, and the surrounding
property owners would be willing to offset a lot of the costs that the Town would
incur to extend utilities to the property. I am confident that once the benefits of
the sewer and roadway on that loop road are presented to these people, they
would see the benefit of offsetting that cost. It could be done through some type
of an improvement district, or something else. The sewer is about a mile and a
half away from the property on the side, as opposed to four miles to the
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east. The cost to run a gravity main for that distance would be somewhere
between $160,000 and $200,000, which makes a lot more sense than $600,000
to go east. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Ed Honea: This question is for Mr. Atler. I am trying to put a dollar amount on
this property. To take this property out of the sheet plain and make it usable
property, have you done any preliminaries on what the cost might be?
Dave After: We have not done that yet. It is a difficult task to do not knowing
what the site planning is going to be. The concept we have discussed at the
facility planning committee is what the Council has discussed, getting even more
property and incorporating a park into it. We would put in a detention/retention
facility within the park and that would reduce or eliminate the sheet flow impact
on the rest of the property. It would be integrated into the site plan and depend
on how much land you get and the site configuration.
Ed Honea: I also have a question for Brad DeSpain. How much would it cost to
drill a well or run a six inch main a mile and a half up to this property and would it
need a lift?
Brad DeSpain: If you drilled a well on site, you probably wouldn't have to worry
about a lift and you are looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000-
$200,000 for a minimum type well and storage facility with the booster pumps.
To extend a main, you will probably be looking at about $38 per foot for an eight
or twelve inch main. As it would stand now, from Adonis estates, it is only a six
inch main and you would have to upgrade the storage and booster facilities at
Amole Circle.
Roxanne Ziegler: Brad, is Adonis going to tap into La Mirage's pump. Is that at
the future sewage plant?
Brad DeSpain: It is my understanding that is the 208 site for the sewage
treatment package plant. I presume that is where it would take place. Mr. After
can probably comment on sewer more than I can. With water, La Mirage will be
required to develop two wells with storage, pressure, etc. There will be an
interconnection between Adonis and La Mirage for backup both ways.
Roxanne Ziegler: What about the water down to this new site?
Brad DeSpain: It would have to be extended from La Mirage to the new site.
From the way it stands, now, it would have to come back to Amole Circle and put
a main in there, all the way up to the site.
Roxanne Ziegler: Hurvie, is this proposed roadway the one we were talking
about, to get another access, ingress/egress, for the La Mirage site? Weren't we
talking about another road connecting with Tangerine? I am trying to wrap this
all in to how it could benefit Doerken's property, should we choose to go forward
with it. Or visa-versa, how his property could benefit Town Hall.
Hurvie Davis: Conceptually, I believe that roadway is one that we are
considering to come down to Tangerine Road. It would serve a number of
developments. We would have the problem that we have been talking about
with the La Mirage project, the access of Grief Road, and we are looking for an
alternate way to serve that. There are a number of property owners involved
and they would all have to agree to jointly find a way to fund that. Hopefully, all
of the property owners would agree to dedicate right-of-way and be a participant
in the project. Mr. Afier may have something to add to that.
Dave After: I just want to point out that this includes the master transportation
plan.
Sherry Millner: Could you tell me what your plans are for the property around
the proposed facility? Is it going to be used for houses?
Terry Klipp: At this point, there really are no plans. I would think that
immediately adjacent to the property would be primarily commercial in
orientation. Again, 145 acres is a lot of property. Tangerine Road/Frontage is
much more valuable for commercial/industrial development than for residential
development. I think that is another advantage to this site, it is a virgin site and
we would be happy to sit with the Town and planning staff to come up with a plan
that would be beneficial to both the Town and the property, if this loop road is
built, it opens up a great deal of property for developmenL It seems to make all
the sense in the world for the future Marana. That is what we feel the advantage
is to this site. Today, it may not make sense to have a facility there, but after
talking to Dave Atler, we are looking at about two years out anyway. By then, I
think development will have occurred there.
Vice Mayor Sutton: Jerry Flannery, what is the current zoning on the whole
145 acres there?
Jerry Flannery: That area is in an old Town zone, believe a portion of it is
rezoned.
Brad DeSpain: Something I should add is that water is very scarce in that area.
After you pass Tangerine, where it goes under the railroad tracks back to the
east, several people have tried the old poultry farm and it is inadequate. There
is some closer to the railroad. The closer you get to the foothills, the harder it is
to find water. It would not be an easy task to find water on that side, it would be
safer to bring it in.
Dave After: We are very fortunate to have two architects in the room. I was
asking if there was a range or estimate that they would work up, as architects, to
answer your question earlier, Councilman Honea. They said about 15%-25% of
the building cost. Again, what we are looking at is incorporating it into the cost of
the park. Depending on the size of the building and the expense you put into the
building, it will change the number significantly. If you take 25% of the high end,
we are talking about 30,000 square feet for the first phase, at about $100 per
square foot it equals $3,000,000. A quarter of that is $750,000. It is quite a bit,
but we are talking about the overall site grading, which includes the park
concept. That will get you dose to what you were looking for.
Herb Kal: Mr. Klipp, could you identify the Town property that was acquired, the
Palkowitsh Property? Would that be to the south and the west of your area?
How big is that parcel?
Terry Klipp: I think it is an acre, maybe less. The larger area, east of the
Palkowitsh Property, is approximately thirteen acres, so I would guess the
Palkowitsh Property is less than an acre.
Vice Mayor Sutton: I know we have some options before us. My feeling is that,
with Mayor Harn being away on business for the Health Center and Councilman
Reuwsaat not being here, maybe we should take no action at this time. This is
not going to be an easy, or quick, decision. I will leave it to the Council's
pleasure, I just suggest no action at this time because Mayor Harn and
Councilman Reuwsaat are not here. Maybe Council would want to give direction
to staff. I still need to absorb it all, now that we have a little better picture to look
at. I would like some more time to meet with people to discuss it some more.
Sherry Millner: Under the recommendation, it says maybe we can get down to
two properties. Since we only had two different companies feel it was important
enough to come before us tonight, we have our two.
Vice Mayor Sutton: You are correct. Although we have a quorum and we can
act as a body, Ora had some interest in the Hum property. I know they are not
here to present, but I don't know if that crosses them off for her. It does for me.
Roxanne Ziegler: Again, the Town Code states that if we have a quorum, we
can act. I am not in favor of putting it off for the other two council members. I
know this is a very important and difficult decision. I agree with Council member
Millner that two groups of people showed up to give presentations and I think
that is very important. I understand there are other commitments by other
council members but this meeting has been advertised for a couple of weeks and
I feel we should go forward with the two properties that were presented tonight.
Vice Mayor Sutton: Does staff have any comments?
Hurvie Davis: We are currently checking the agenda, and it basically says
presentations by owners and discussion of alternatives without action being
identified. Mr. Hochuli's opinion has been that if it doesn't identify action, the
Council is unable to take action. I will defer to Mr. Hochuli on that. I would also
say that if the Council does not feel comfortable making a decision on this
tonight, it shouldn't. Does the Council want staff to go back and do more
research and analysis? Mayor Harn indicated in her State of the Town Address
that this is a decision that should involve the community.
Dan Hochuli: Since the agenda appears to be specific in its designation of
presentation and discussion, I would advise against Council action this evening.
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Roxanne Ziegler: I was unable to attend the State of the Town Address but I
did read the message and I was some what surprised that Mayor Ham
mentioned community input and that the study session was tonight. When I got
my copy of the speech she was going to make, she did mention that and i
thought to myself, when are we going to give the Town community input? Have
we gone and said, "O.K., community, here's the sites. What is your input?" Or,
were we going to get them down to two? We short listed to eight, down to three,
back to four, now we are at four. I don't know when she anticipated having
community input. Although, I think that may be we are getting a little closer to
that if we get it down to these two, tonight. May be that is what she felt, that now
is the time to get the input from the community. I have looked at this, as have
several people, for several months. I would like to move off center and get
something going. We could sit here and argue about how much it is going to
cost, and I don't think anyone in this room can tell me, right now. We could have
five more meetings and talk about that for five more hours. Again, like what
Councilwoman Millner said, I would like to make a motion (even if it goes against
our attorney's best interest for the Town). It does say motion is Council's
pleasure. My pleasure is to make a motion.
A motion was made by Roxanne Ziegler, no second, to go ahead and move
forward with the two presentations given, tonight. Motion failed.
Vice Mayor Sutton: Roxanne, the initial study that gave us those five circles
was from the firm that did the study for us and from public input. I remember the
public being involved with the firm and staff that was doing that, to find the center
of town and what was applicable.
Dave After: The CSC counts were under the direction of the Planning
department. They generated the drawing, with the exception of the gray circles
you see. The gray circles identify the Town geographic center, population
center, based on planning area. The facility planning committee, over several
months, identified what areas should be further explored. As far as the public
participation, it has been involved in the general plan advisory committee, as well
as the possibility of the open discussion during a number of Council meetings
over the last year.
Roxanne Ziegler: I was on the Council at that time. Are you suggesting, Vice
Mayor, that public input (I guess I am thinking of something else) has been done,
in that these are the five that they came up with?
Vice Mayor Sutton: No. I agree with you that now is the time to bring the
public back in. Now that we have done work to get it down to what is feasible for
the Town, and I believe that there needs to be a lot more. That is why I am a
little concerned about making a motion now. I want the public to make the final
decision.
Roxanne Ziegler: Right! May be I am not making myself clear. If we choose
these two sites, then is it appropriate to have the community come in? Just like
going on a short list, we are down to two and it is time for community input.
Vice Mayor Sutton: What I would suggest is that we give direction as to what
we want to happen next, We don't have to make a motion to choose these two.
If we know we are moving forward, we can direct staff to work with the two we
have. We got a lot tonight and there is a lot to absorb. The road from Tangerine
throws us into another project that we are having a problem on. There is a lot
more to consider now. Both of them have their definite values for the Town. I
would be more comfortable to direct staff to get a public committee together than
having a public hearing, no one comes to the public hearings.
Mike Hein: I think, from working with Mayor Ham on her speech and talking to
some of the Council members, the idea of public participation was forward
thinking, as far as what to do from this point fodh, whether it is four properties or
two properties. May be go out into the community, hold Town Hall meetings in
Continental Ranch, Adonis and some of the other neighborhoods. Then we
could talk about some common issues in general, one of which includes the
Town Hall siting, to kind of gauge how salient the issue is. We would be able to
see if there is strong community preferences or input that the Council and facility
planning committee did not think of in their site selection process. We should
really factor that into the evaluation for determination of the final site.
Vice Mayor Sutton: My feeling is that two people felt it was important enough
to show up tonight and present. In my mind I have my two short list.
Sherry Millner: If we still include those other two properties, and they did not
show up, what have we accomplished tonight? We just got a little bit more
information.
Ed Honea: I think that if two corporate entities show up and make presentations
and the other two don't bother to show up, on a project this big, that we should
just take the other two out of the running. I think we should make these two the
short list, I don't know if we can give direction to staff to do a little more detail, I
would be interested in some more precise information on the flooding and about
how much it would cost, on these two sites. Then we can have a couple public
hearings, a couple Town Halls. One at Dove Mountain, one at Continental
Ranch and one here, so people can come in and have their say. At least then
we would have some facts and figures to show them.
Herb Kai: In all fairness to Mr. Hum, his position was if the Council so decided
to choose his parcel, he needed to know if the Council was interested and how
many acres the Council wanted to buy. It really wasn't lack of interest on his
part, he just felt that he did not have any plans that he could show for his
conceptual buildings, ideas, etc. If the Council was interested, he just hoped that
we would get back with him. That is just to clear the record. I feel that we do
have two good sites here and I honestly think we need some more refinement
and some more definite numbers. Water, Brad's projection of building a well,
should be investigated more closely. Sewer, whether it is septic systems or an
extension to the regional treatment plant, needs to have some numbers
presented. I would like to see staff define some numbers to the two sites and
then move forward. We need to look at Mr, Wexler's $200,000 number for the
sewer connection. Is that something we can hang our hat on?
12
VI.
Dave After: Yes. I think that looks reasonable. There is a question mark to
that, also, when there is property between here and the connecting point near
Grier and Sandario.
Roxanne Ziegler: Thank you for helping me clarify what I was trying to say. I
certainly understand what the Mayor was going with, I read her speech. If we
open it up to the community for all of the sites, we are going back a year and we
are going to have so much negotiation and debate. We have really made a lot of
head way to where we are now. I understand what Ore wants to do, but I think
we should just take the two sites now, they are both good sites and they both
have their advantages and disadvantages. We can get more information just on
these two sites, and come back whenever it is appropriate, and get closer to the
decision. I apologize for drop kicking our attorney's suggestion, but he is used to
me being like that.
Hurvie Davis: I think the decision, as we move forward on this, is that we are
going to have to address and determine a planning horizon with our facility. I
don't think that our planning committee is at that stage, right now. We may have
to stage that in terms of space needs, we have to project the growth of the
community and the growth of staff and the growth of services to the community
in perhaps five year increments. The basic ingredient, when looking at a
municipal complex, is how many square feet will you need? Secondly, we want
to look at that complex, and the sites we are looking at, to see if the two
accommodate each other for the theme that we are talking about for the
municipal complex. Then you have to look at the difference in cost, meaning the
cost of infrastructure for each site. Infrastructure is where the cost is going to
fluctuate, not in the complex itself. What is the size of the facility we need, the
type of facility, does it allow for the expansion we want over time and the
complimentary uses of the facility. It should be a place that people want to go,
not just to conduct business with their government, but to do other types of
activities (arts, amphitheaters, museums, etc.). These are the kind of decisions
that we will have to make when we select one of the two sites. Staff has heard a
lot of discussion and concerns of the Council, this evening, so I don't think we
need a vote to tell us what to do. That should make Mr. Hochuli feel better.
Vice Mayor Sutton: I want to commend both of the representatives, tonight.
Not only for giving the presentations in language we can understand, but for
using their property to not only benefit their property, but the Town as a whole.
They both showed some excellent ways of attacking some problems that we are
dealing with anyway. I know dealing with a municipality, dealing with five or
seven different people, and not being able to close a deal like you are used to in
a regular environment is not easy. It is a very important decision for us and it is
something that I am just going to be a voice for. it is not going to be my
decision, it is going to be enough people telling me where it should be. Thank
you. Staff, I think direction is very clear as to where we need to go with this.
A motion was made by Ed Honea, seconded by Roxanne Ziegler, to adjourn.
The motion passed 5/0. Meeting adjourned at 7:30 P.M.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are the true and correct minutes of the
Marana Town Council held on January 27, 1998. I further certify that a quorum
was present.
S/C RK
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