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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/01/1995 Regular Council Meeting MinutesPLACE AND DATE Marana Town Hall, August 1, 1995. I. CALL TO ORDER By Mayor Ed Honea. Time: 7:05 PM. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Mayor Ed Honea. IlL INVOCATION Led by Mayor Ed Honea. IV. ROLL CALL COUNCIL Ed Honea Sharon Price Tom Clark Ora Mae Harn Sherry Millner Herb Kai Bobby Sutton Jr. STAFF Hurvie Davis Dan Hochuli Sandra Groseclose Brad DeSpain Denise Stankowitz Jennifer Moore Sandra Gladden Jerry Flannery John Siath 13 Members of the Public. Mayor Vice-Mayor Council Member Council Member, excused Council Member Council Member Council Member, excused Town Manager Town Attorney Town Clerk Utilities Director Planner I Administrative Clerk Administrative Secretary Planning Administrator Town Engineer V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by Sharon Price, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to approve the agenda as written. VI. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A motion was made by Herb Kal, seconded by Sharon Price and carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of July 5, 1995 and Special Council Meeting of July 8, 1995. VII. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Dan Hochuli: Mr. Hochuli introduced Dennis Harrison who joined Dan's firm today. Dennis was formerly a prosecutor with the County Attorney's Office. Jerry' Flannery: Mr. Flannery also introduced some of his Staff to the Council. Sandy Gladden was hired as the Administrative Secretary in Planning and Zoning. Denise Stankowitz recently graduated from the U of A with a degree in Planning. She holds the position of Planner I. Also Cheri Brooks, who is the receptionist at the Development Center, was introduced. Sandy Groseclose: Sandy introduced a new Town employee, Jennifer Moore. VIII. GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS A. Appointments to the Business Advisory Committee Hurvle Davis: There is a fifteen member Business .Advisory Committee presenting business interests throughout the Town. This Committee was formed as a result of the Ina/Thornydale annexation. We have three vacancies on the Committee currently. Tonight there are three names before Council to fill those positions. There is also a fourth name to go on the list as an alternate. Recommended to Council are Liz Williams who has owned and operated Ina Road Auto Parts for over fifteen years; Michelle Martin, who is one of the new co-owners of the Marana Insurance Agency; and Douglas Rolls, president of Hayden Concrete Products, who has been in business for over seventeen years. Thc alternate, Allan Bancroft is an agent with Century 21 on Ina Road. A motion was made by Sharon Price, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to approve Liz Williams, Michelle Martin and Douglas Rolls to be appointed to the Business Advisory Committee and that Allan Bancroft be approved as the alternate member. B. PUBLIC HEARING - Ordinance No. 95.18:GPA-05-02 - Amendment to Town of Marana General Plan - Consideratiou of an amendment to the Town of Marana General Plan from designation Zone "C", Low-Moderate Residentialt to designation Zone Transportation; Ruiz Notes. Hurvie Davis: This item is a request to amend the Town of Marana's General Plan. It has been through the process with the Planning Commission. Jerry Flannery: This item came to the Planning Commission on May 31, 1995. At that time there were only four members of the Commission present. There was significant discussion and at that time the Commission recommended a continuance until June 28, 1995. At the June 28, 1995 meeting the Planning Commission recommended an action of 3 to 3, basically a non-recommendation to go forward to the Council. The project itself is a request to amend the General Plan. This proposal covers a small sliver of property known as "C', and under "C" on the General Plan it is primarily residential, moderate to low density, clustering and supporting uses of schools and parks. When Staff evaluated it we did know that there was another proposal that could be coming down the road in the form of a Specific Plan. We had some discussion with the applicant representative Carl Winters, and he said that the first step in that process was to amend the General Plan. Obviously if the Specific Plan came in we would have a significant amount of comment and there would be quite a bit of time taken up by that. When Staff looked at it they looked at the General Plan and whether or not the "C" zone on the General Plan is logical or not. Carl Winters, 270 N. Church Tucson~ AZ: He would like to make a two part presentation. The first part is to discuss why this is a logical plan amendment. For the second part he would like to discuss why the particular request which will probably come in the future makes sense. The small area right now--as Jerry mentioned, the "E"--comes up to the edge of the Tangerine Landfill. Right below the landfill there is the Old Marana Landfill. To amend the whole area would create a uniform category along the area. There has been discussion and presentations by Pima County Solid Waste to the Town that they were going to close the Tangerine Landfill possibly this year. He has a letter from the Solid Waste Manager which states that the Landfill will remain active at least through 1999. It also states in the letter that the landfill will be 55 feet high on parts and 35 on other parts. The Town was told it would be 25 feet high. There is no other landfill so the Tangerine Landfill will not get shut 2 down. They have requested that Granite Construction give them a 100 foot area around the landfill. He presume that the immediate reason for that is to buffer the landfill and system when they get ready for closure, Granite Construction is not inclined to give it to them. Granite bought this property at an auction of the State Land Department. The auction was instigated by Pima County, the reason being that they wanted to expand the Tangerine Landfill. Granite knew that this area had excellent potential for a second gravel operation in the future. There was an enormous brouhaha going on in the Town at that time which involved a private landfill and the embankment of the Tangerine Landfill and also the Pima County Flood Control Lower Santa Cruz Levee. P/ma County said to the Town of Marana that if the Town let them expand out here, they would take that dirt and use it for the flood control levee. But several members of the Board of Supervisors sandbagged some members of the Town of Marana and the Town Council voted to tell Pima County they did not want the Landfill expanded. Granite was the only bidder against Pima County. The County came back later and tried to do a Specific Plan for the one portion of the property that is already zoned "E'. Granite called Mr. Winters wanting to know what they could do to help get the Santa Cruz levee built. At that time Mr. Winters came to Mayor Harn and said that Granite Construction would like to do anything and everything to get the levee built. Historically there had been an attempted to go around and get people to give property, in Granite's case that is quite a bit of property. He called around to the Board of Supervisors to see what the votes looked like concerning the levee, apparently it is 2-2. One of the things that the Town is going to need in order to actually have that levee happen is a great deal of property, dirt and other support. That is really the essence of the Plan Amendment. The Specific Plan will be prepared at some point in time. We will come back to Council at that time. Council has received three letters all specifically requesting that the Zoning not be changed until the levy is built. We will never ask to do anything until the levy is completed. Mark Palkowitz: Mr. Palkowitz is a property owner adjacent to the property which is owned by Granite Construction. Being a property owner who would be affected by the flood issues, he is also willing to contribute dollars to this. The Town is in the process of looking at the Master Plan, it seems that it could be incorporated into that. It appears to him that by going through this step of the process, they are chipping away at the long term goals of Granite versus the City. He would ask the Town to deny the request. Mayor Honea: We have discussed this before. A gravel mining operation has absolutely zero benefits to the Town of Marana as far as he is concerned. There is no income tax, provides basically no jobs, tears up the roads and he doesn't see any advantage in that. There is heavy industrial in the area, but there comes a point where you have to stop. The Zone "C' allows for a lot of industrial uses as well as commercial uses. Jerry Flannery: The hard Zone "C' allows commercial manufacturing, industrial and residential. Mayor Honea: Why did Granite Construction seek hard zoning instead of just a change in the General Plan. Carl Winters: If he were to come in and ask for a Significant Land Use Change to develop something relatively nice, Jerry would report to Council that it did not comply with the General Plan. We are seeking to change the General Plan, we are not looking for a Significant Land Use Change at this point, what he is trying to do in his Specific Plan is that there are ways in which he can assure in a Specific Plan and through any other related agreements that go with it, that should Granite pursue a sand and gravel operation we can guarantee they will provide a source of funds and revenues to the Town. The reason he stayed away from discussing sand and gravel is the issue before Council tonight is does it make any sense for the Town's General Plan to call for housing, not commercial or industrial, next to a landfill. In his opinion it does not make sense. The reason it makes sense now to do that is for two reasons. The first reason is that when the Town's General Plan is updated, more than 3 likely Staff will reach the same conclusion that he did. The second reason is that it may be true that land in a flood plain may not be worth a great deal, but if we don't ask Granite for it and get it for free, it is going to add a cost to the levy. Herb Kal: How far away would an extraction plant be from the levee. Carl Winters: When we develop this we would sit down with Staff and look at these issues. He would not allow any operation in the flood plain, if he could not guarantee that it would not be in the flood plain he would not turn it in. Hurvie Davis: Is Granite still willing to sign a new easement agreement. Carl Winters: Yes. Hurvie Davis: With or without the change to the General Plan. Carl Winters: Not without it, they have no incentive. Hurvie Davis: If the Bank Protection goes in doesn't it enhance the value. Carl Winters: No. If the Plan Amendment is not approved, he comes in and files a Significant Land Use Change, Mr. Flannery is going to tell him that he ought to submit it in compliance with category "C' which calls for low to medium density housing. He would have a hard time selling houses next to the Landfill, it doesn't make any sense. Hurvie Davis: If the Plan Amendment is approved then is Granite willing to make a donation of the easement as well as a financial contribution. Carl Winters: He would be willing to talk about that. Mayor Honea announced Council out of Public Hearing. A motion was made by Tom Clark, seconded by Herb Kal and carried unanimously to not approve Ordinance No. 95.18 - Amendment to the Town of Marana General Plan. C. Resolution No. 95~46 - Approval of Application to Arizona Department of Water Resources for the Designation of Assured Water Supplyt a designation given to municipal water providers that can meet projected water demand for 100 years. Brad DeSpain: There are a few definitions he would like to go over. An Assured Water Supply is an assurance that hydrologically water is available to meet the demand for 100 years of a proposed development. It also takes into consideration the quality, consistency and that there are financial capabilities to construct necessary water delivery and treatment works by the provider. Safe Yield is the amount of water that can be pumped and not deplete our aquifer to 1000 feet. Water quality of a service area is generally suitable for human consumption. Over time treatment will possibly be needed, the further down you go the lower the quality. The designation of Assured Water Supply is a decision and order issued to a municipal provider as having an assured water supply which is based upon five criteria. CMID is not a municipal provider, they cannot apply for a designation of Assured Water Supply. The criteria are, is sufficient water continuously available to satisfy the demand of proposed development for 100 years. It's a belief that those that apply early may establish priority to the groundwater supply in the vicinity of the wells or your service area. Through our designation we would be able to acquire all of the water that is available--that 81,000+ acre feet that was talked about for 100 years--if anybody else came into our area after that point in time, and there was no additional water available then they could not obtain an assured water supply unless they joined Central A~4zona Ground Water Replenishment District. Through our projects we will be able to acquire a fair amount of water that we feel we will need for 100 years. Mr. DeSpain 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN COUNCIL August 1, 1995 explained each part of the application, as to what information would be needed to fill it out completely. Mayor Honea: If we annex more properD', which is very possible, will that land mass be included in the Assured Water Suppl~y. Brad DeSpain: We would have to go back for an amendment and apply for those areas, it should not be very difficult. Some may already have assured water supplies. Jerry Flannery: The population projections through PAG were put together by Mr. Flannery. We looked at the Town limits as they exist, it does not reflect future annexations. Hugh Holub: He talked briefly about the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District. The Department of Water Resources changed the rules of the Assured Water Supply. They want us to have a renewable water resource, we can't just keep mining groundwater. They recognized that not everybody could get their hands on CAP water, treat it and deliver it. A couple years ago they passed a law creating the Groundwater Replenishment District and then adopted, effect Februau- 1995, the Assured Water Supply rule. This rule states that if you can prove you have the groundwater underneath you, which Marana is clearly able to do, they will give us an Assured Water Supply provided that there is an agreement to join the Groundwater Replenishment District and pay a pump tax. There are two ways to handle the pump tax. One is you could not have the Town designated, let each individual landowner that wants to develop join the Replenishment District. That person would have to sign a covenant on their property, then the pump tax would end up showing up on their tax bill. The developers in Pima County are finding out about this and are not liking it very much. The service area designation means that the whole area comes m and then the tax is levied on what they call excess groundwater pumping. They take about 1/30th of the groundwater use in the first year, 2/30th the second year and so on. You can prove your renewable supply by means other than the membership in the Groundwater Replenishment District. The Groundwater Replenishment District, which is really an arm of the Central Arizona Project, can do the groundwater replenishment in one of two ways. They can turn around and sell CAP water to irrigation districts, exchange that for groundwater pumping. Or they can actually build a recharge project and put the CAP water in the ground, which they are looking at doing in Marana. It is very important to understand the Groundwater Replenishment District and how they operate, there is a tax on underlying groundwater. We are negotiating with Tucson for a pomon of CAP water through an IGA, this could reduce an5, amount we ~vould have to buy from the Replenishment District in the future. This is designed to be a certain way to have an assured water supply no matter what happens and no matter what the deal is with Tucson. The reason this Town was created was to try and preserve the groundwater in the area for future growth and this is a step that is going to help a long way to doing exactly that. As an incentive to get people in to the Replenishment District, if you get in by August 7, 1995 at 5:00 p.m., you get three years exemption from the tax. Brad DeSpain: They should be able to file the appl!cation on Thursday if all goes well. A motion was made by Herb Kai, seconded by Sharon Price and carried unanimously to approve Resolution No, 95-46. D. Resolution No. 95-43 - Approval of Intergovernmental Agreement between the State of Arizona and the Town of Marana authorizing the State of Arizona as Agent from the Town for the construct/on of Sanders Road~ from the Santa Cruz River to Marana Road. Hurvie Davis: This is a normal routine matter when we have a roadway construction project with Federal funds involved. Federal funds are never distributed to the local jurisdiction, the}' are administered through the State Fund in Transportation. The design is completed and the plan specifics have been approved by ADOT. We are recommending entering into an agreement with the State Department of Transportation to administer the Sanders Road project. A motion was made by Sharon Price, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to approve Resolution No. 95-43. E. Resolution No. 95-44 - Approving AEPCO interest-free loan to Marana Municipal Water System for economic development purposes. Hurvie Davis: Before Council this evening is authorization to enter into an agreement with AEPCO, which is the AlSzona Electric Power Cooperative, for an $88,000.00 interest free loan to make improvements to the Town's municipal water system. The money would be used for a storage tank and the main water lines. Roy Cuaron: The net impact of the loan is .43 cents per thousand gallons. Mr. Cuaron reviewed the different scenarios regarding this situation. The $88,000.00 is the maximum amount that the Town was approved for, we may not need to use it all. Hurvie Davis: If we enter into the loan we would have some impact on our water system. Mayor Honea: The increase would take care of the new debt structure, but the Municipal Water Company has basically been operating at a deficit ever since the Town had it. Would there be need for additional rate increase just for general maintenance. Brad DeSpain: Part of the recommendation to Council will be that we hold a study session on the Water System to discuss this, It appears that it would take about an 86% increase in rates to get the Water System on a break even basis, including the loan. Mayor Houea: He felt that would be very difficult to deal with, people are going to be very upset. What are the plans for the loan moneys, does the Town have plans to spend the entire amount. Brad DeSpain: Considerable caution and judgment would be used before the money would be spent. The plan that has been discussed is to wait until December to do anything with it. We would like to see a storage tank go in, this is as important as the main lines. The most important thing in his mind is to arrange for an inter-tie with Cortaro Marana Irrigation District. Mr. DeSpain reviewed with Council a rate structure chart. The base minimum is $12.00 for the first 1000 gallons plus tax. We then charge $2.33 for each 1000 gallons used. We sell 22,809,570 gallons per year, that is the last six year average. Of this 180,000 gallons is the base amount. The least effect we could have on rate payers is to raise the additional amount of water rate. The base could also be raised as well as the fee for additional water. There is a three to five year window in which these funds will be available, they are basically no interest funds. Hurvie Davis: This would give us an opportunity to further improve the liability of the system. Costs are continuing to increase, more testing is required. We need to cover some of the built-in overall costs of the system. We don't have the answer as to how we will be able to make the system pay for itself with increasing costs and no new customers. Mayor Honea: The area which is serviced by the Water System is a low to moderate income. To up the rates 86% over a couple of years could be a severe hardship on the people. The rates have doubled since the Town bought the water company. Brad DeSpain: We would not recommend raising it 86% in three to four years even. The reason that number was mentioned, you need to start thinking of the dilemma the Town is in. The General Fund is greatly subsidizing the water company. There is a lot of liability not being able to provide. The average customer bill per month is $34.28, if we increased it to the amount talked about it would go to $63.76, almost double. Water in the desert is cheaper than it is in surface water areas. A motion was made by Herb Kal, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 95-14. F. Update of CDBG Projects - Status of intended improvements to rest rooms and security lighting at Marana Park. Dan Groseclose: On the two projects listed, back in early April he talked with the Town Engineer. The matter was turned over to GLHN, they submitted a bid which was accepted by Joe Lizardi. To date GLHN has not done anything with these projects, the matter has now been referred to the new Town Engineer. Hurvie Davis: There is $20,000.00 for the rest rooms. Dan Groseclose: That is correct and $30,000.00 for the lighting. The rest room improvements would include expanding the existing ramada rest rooms in the center of the Park. That will require engineering and architectural work to accomplish. The lighting program--to get the proper utilization of the electricity and the lines--is going to require an electrical engineer. Mayor Honea: We need to expedite the spending of these moneys. That is some of the reason that Pima County does not look favorably on giving the Town more money. The money has been available for six months and there aren't any drawings, blueprints or anything. If we had the money in January the project should be done by now. He would like to see these projects done before Founder's Day. Dan Groseclose: Until we have the engineering done it cannot move forward. Mayor Honea: We need to expedite these issues through Staff to get some action on this two projects. Hurvie Davis: Mr. Davis stated that the Town Engineer is out this week, when he returns this can be discussed to see if we can get the project moving. Tom Clark: This will be put out for bid after the engineering is done. Hurvie Davis: That is correct. We will probably do the engineering in house with Collins- Pifia. Tom Clark: He agrees with the Mayor, he would like to see these projects expedited. G. Ordinance No. 95.19 - Declaring as a public record the adoption of new starting time for Town of Marana Council Meetings. Hurvte Davis: This item is an action to move the starting time of the Town Council Meetings from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., which has been requested by a number of the Council Members. Staff does not have any problem with changing the time. Mayor Honea: He feels that this would help expedite matters and allow people to get home a little earlier, Tom Clark: He would have trouble making some of the meetings at 6:00 p.m. ~vith his duties on the farm. Herb Kai: Either time is fine with him. 7 A motion was made by Sharon Price, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to continue this item until the August 15, 1995 Council Meeting. H. Resolution No. 95-42 - Transfer of ownership of private streets in the Adonis Mobile Home Subdivision to the Town of Marana and acceptance thereof by the Town of Marana for maintenance. Hurvie Davis: This item has been before Council previously and there have been a number of discussions. He would recommend that this action be taken this evening. We are going to have to do some work to the roadways. The Home Owner's Association has done a lot of work on the roads, they just have not been able to keep up with the maintenance. A motion was made by Sharon Price, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 95-42. I. Resolution No. 95-41 - Acceptance of Regency Boulevard into the Town of Marana Street Maintenance System. Hurvie Davis: This is a roadway in the Ina/Thornydale annexation. It was constructed to County standards when it was in the County. It does meet the Town standards and we would recommend that Resolution No. 95-41 be adopted. Dan Hochuli: If the Council desires to adopt Resolution No. 95-41, he misdesignated the name of the street. He would ask that the Resolution be changed to have the correct name of the street listed. A motion was made by Cheryl Millner, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to approve Resolution No. 95-41, accepting Regency Plaza Street. J. Resolution No. 95-45 - Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement between the Town of Marana and Ptma County that names Pima County as administrator of the High Intensitv Drug Trafficking Area IHIDTA-V) Grant. Hurvie Davis: Historically this has been an IGA between the Town of Marana and the City of Tucson. The City of Tucson is no longer interested in that program, it is now be administered by the County. A motion was made by Tom Clark, seconded by Sharon Price and carried unanimously to approve Resolution No. 95-45. K. Northwest Fire District/Town of Marana Report Hurvie Davis: We have a lot of interaction with the Northwest Fire District on the south end of Town. Captain Jayme Kahle, Northwest Fire District: Since the Town of Marana and the Northwest Fire District serve a lot of the same people, he felt that it would be a good idea to share information. In the spirit of intergovernmental cooperation we would like offer the Town two methods of sharing information. The first method would be a monthly report which would be given with the normal Staff reports. The second is they would like to try to be available at all Council Meetings. We have made a commitment to be available at the first Council Meeting of every month, in case there are questions from the Council or the Public, they can be answered. We could also receive input from the Council on how Northwest Fire could provide better service. Mayor Hones: He would like to discuss possibly expanding services. Hurvie Davis: That item is scheduled for the next Council Meeting on August 15, 1995, We have Staff reports on the second meeting of each month, it would possibly be more appropriate to attend the second rather than the first meeting of each month. 8 L. Mayor's Report Mayor Honea: There were two retreats held since the last Council Meeting. Last Thursday with the Planning Commission and the Thursday before with the Department Heads and Executive Staff. He felt they were both very. productive. Mayor Honea along with Vice Mayor Price and Mr. Davis attended to opening of the new Ernst Home and Garden Center which opened in Marana. It has been a very productive couple of weeks. The new Council Members have had a chance to meet with Staff as well as members of the Planning Commission. Friday was the graduation of the first class of the new Marana Explorer Post. M. Town Manal~er's Report Hurvie Davis: He attended the GTEC meeting with Vice Mayor Price. Yesterday he had the opportunity to attend a meeting at the University of Atizona and GTEC relative to astronomy, Tucson has a reputation for being an ideal place to observe the stars. The service roadway between the Park and the irrigation canal has been closed off. Sanders and Moore Roads construction should be under way in the next couple months. We are behind in the Horizon Hills/Price Club extension that we had committed to with the annexation. We are proceeding and hopefully we will have that out to construction bid in a couple months. Letters were sent to the businesses in the Ina Road area regarding the "A' frame signs. They have until September 4th to abide by the Town Sign Code, he feels there has already been a large percentage complying. Mayor Honea: August 5th will be the dedication ceremony for the art projects down at the monument area. Hurvie Davis: At a recent PAG meeting, the people who sponsored this project came before the PAG Regional Council and made a presentation relative to the art work they were putting in Oro Valley. IX. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Mayor Honea: There are two projects that he feels there should be study sessions on. One would be regarding the water system and also annexation. Possibly something could be scheduled for Wednesday, August 16, 1995 to discuss water issues, primatily the Municipal Water System. One week from that date, Wednesday August 23, 1995 we would meet on annexation issues. X. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Sharon Price, seconded by Tom Clark and carried unanimously to adjourn. Time 9:30 p.m.. AUDIO TAPES OF THE MEETING ARE AVAILABLE AT THE MARANA TOWN HALL CLERK'S OFFICE. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are the true and correct minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of the Marana Town Council held on August 1, 1995. I further certify that a quorum was present. 9