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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/15/2004 Study Session MinutesMINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 PLACE AND DATE Marana Town Hall, June 15, 2004 I. CALL TO ORDER By Council Member Honea at 5:04 p.m. Council Member Honea noted Vice Mayor Herb Kai was not present. All other Council Members were present and seated at the dais. Senior staff and Town consultants in attendance included Mike Reuwsaat, Anthony Cassella, and Jocelyn Bronson. II. GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Studv Session: Discussion of Producer's Cotton Gin Building and the Communication Tower for the new Municipal Complex Council Member Honea began the study session by turning it over to Town Manager Reuwsaat for presentation of the Producer's Cotton Gin building. MR. REUWSAAT: When the Council began establishing its motto and vision for the Town of Marana, it has never forgotten where it came from. As a result, the motto has gone from "Come Grow With Us" to "Inspired by the Past and Committed to the Future." Part of the effort and the vision the Council adopted through that statement has been carried through to a number of items, activities, thoughts, philosophies, directions, and specific projects now in the Town so that the past that has inspired us is part of the future because of the commitment to put in the resources to remember that, to rebuild that, to collect the activities, the history and so forth, for future generations of Marana. About a year ago, as part of that process, the Council approved the Culture and Heritage Commission, which has several functions. One of the functions is to look at sites as they come in, development plans that might have historic or cultural sites on them that have to do some type of mitigation plan and review the mitigation plans from staff. That commission was five citizens appointed by the Council, and a larger part of what the commission was set up for was to begin to collect information, identify the value, and make recommendations towards maintaining the historic values in the community. The second and more tangible effort was the establishment and the Cultural and Heritage Park that is being developed on the Santa Cruz is part of an overall 240-acre Santa Cruz River Park site. The Town Council has approved a lease where the improvements were purchased from Dan Post, who has the current lease, and then went into a lease agreernent with State land for that site. As an extension of that, MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 there has been two presentations where Aspen Environmental was hired to do a concept plan, which was presented to the parks committee and then to Council and was approved. He said this is a larger picture of the site which includes the Glenn Farm site up to the Marsh Farm, which is the cultural and historic park site. Further evidence of the Council's commitment to the Heritage Park and the development of that was that in the negotiations with Glenn Farms, one of the assets the Town gained in that negotiation was the extension of the Glenn Farms Road, through the subdivision, down to that site, which the utility extensions and the road down to that site will be completed by the end of this year, with an extension from that park site all the way around to the Glenn Park site that will be built in Phase II Glenn Farms. The lots in Glen Farms are selling rapidly. Another part of the evidence toward the Heritage Park was to renovate the farm home there into a public facility. The Heritage committee, consisting of three Council members and about twelve department heads and staff, is meeting weekly on this house and site and renovating it into the future home for the Marana Arts Council. The goal is July 1st, but a more realistic goal is September 1st to have the building open and running for the Marana Arts Council. This is the first tangible project on site, with the road coming down from Glenn Fauns, taking in parking so that there is parking for this building and future buildings on that site, because the concept plan from Aspen Environmental shows the possibility of three or four buildings as needed, and to build a structure for the Cultural and Heritage Park. So there is the Marana Arts building, a kiln room, the Ramada, the horse barn, with an efficiency room on site so someone can stay on site 24 hours a day to maintain the horses and for security on site. As the horse stalls are converted, there will be public restrooms and a tack room. The horses for the police equestrian patrol will be moved from Parson's to this location. The irrigation pipes would be taken underground as part of the improvements, and they are working with Glenn Farms along with entryway monumentation because the area coming into the park is not only an entry to the Cultural and Heritage Park but also the primary entrance into the 240-acre park site off Moore Road, making it a very significant entrance. The renovation of the farm home is well underway, and plans are to have it completed by September 1st. Going back to Producer's Cotton Gin building, several years ago there was a study done to look at the architectural integrity and the historical significance. There were a lot of mixed feelings within the community. It is a locally significant facility because of the type of use and the history of the building in Marana. The site being pointed out on an exhibit will probably be the site of a strip mall. ~., 2 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 Another effort is $50,000 to complete the design of the entrance off I-10, which will probably become the single busiest interchange in Marana over time with the development going on and all the residential housing from the Smith Plant to Pinal County line. Referring to a presentation on Marana's Town core and as it builds out over time, the access point off I-10 becomes the focal point. With time, there will be constraints to the use of the site because of the amount of access and traffic transportation issues. That will be firmed up with the transportation study that will be done next year. In pointing out a building that is locally significant, the staff has recommended the consideration of rebuilding it at the Heritage and Cultural Park site. One of the reasons is to have a facility for Ora Harn to begin collecting information while older Marana citizens are able to provide that information and the Producer's Cotton Gin being a place to house that information. The owners of the property would like to see those two buildings relocated and, per the letter of May 28, 2004, from Bradley Boland, for the Town to salvage the contents of the building for re-use in the rebuilt structure and used in a way that would augment the interior of a cotton museum. The letter recognizes the current owners' obligation toward the buildings, the goal of the Town being they would rebuild at full cost for both buildings; and secondly, that the Town has immediate possession to save those contents before the building collapses because of its age or before it is destroyed in some way. As the Town moves forward, the momentum at Glenn Farms and at the Cultural and Heritage Park, the staff would like to finalize and begin working to establish the site and planning for the cotton gin building in the Cultural Heritage Park to be utilized as the cotton museum, along with other cultural and heritage history. He stated relocation of the cotton gin is an emotional and important issue, but Mr. Reuwsaat believes this site is the best location for it. Some of the things that are being explored, such as the ranch house the Heritage committee has been meeting on, there is going to be an adobe facade around it to help maintain the structural integrity of the ranch house as well as all the facilities in the park. With regard to the building and the adobe bricks that make up the building, there has been discussion regarding different things that could be done to incorporate the building and its contents into the community. MR. HONEA: A lot of the Heritage Park would be to have the landscape as it was before it was used for farming. Part of the contention is demolishing and moving the Producer's Cotton Gin building because it is the last old structure in Marana. The 3 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL ~~~ JUNE 15, 2004 original idea was to retrofit that building and shed, in place, to make that part of the entry monument to the Town. A study was done regarding the cotton gin that came back at about $405,000 to retrofit the main building. In some calculations, they have come up with about half that to re-build both buildings, taking all the infrastructure out that can be used in a new building, and moving it to the park. Mr. Honey said he was one of the ones who didn't want to tear the building down, but after looking at it in perspective, it will be a safer building, and there will be both buildings instead of just one. A lot of the interior will be the same, and the blocks could be integrated into the new structure. Mr. Honey believes Heritage Park will become a destination, that people will come to Marana just to go to Heritage Park. Farming and ranching were an important part of early Marana, and if people were able to look at old farm implements and old information, it is something to be proud of and that can be built upon. There would be the Art Council, the farming and ranching museum, and several people in the community are wanting to donate things. The building will get a lot more use in the park than where it is because of the transportation problems. Mr. Honea said he would ask the council to consider moving the building there and having that be the Heritage facility. MR. REUWSAAT: A year ago in August, the Council talked about establishing a commercial design review committee. A lot of the development community has said that when the Council is ready and establishes what its expectations are for the commercial corridor design, they would be willing to fund and hire an appropriate company to prepare the commercial design review standards, which would be under the direction and approval of the Council. As an outpouring of a larger effort of what Marana is and will be in the future is the recognition by the private sector to be part of a larger picture that is a part of the past. And as the Town moves forward, there will be recommendations that some basic design criteria be developed and to partner with the private sector to develop the standards for this part of the community. One of the recommendations would be that adobe be incorporated as part of the concept. MS. ORA HARK: She was one who had wanted the cotton gin to stay where it is, but looking at the larger picture of moving the gin to Heritage Park and making it a part of the overall plan for presenting to the community and people who visit, it will present a real image of where the Town has come from and what has been done in the past. Significant inroads have been made into working with different people to find things that might be interesting in the museum. ,,.~. The University of Arizona College of Agriculture is working to help locate a small 4 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL h JUNE 15, 2004 gin. If the Museum had a small working gin, school children and people outside the community could see how cotton is ginned. There are small balers, and if a baling machine could be found, the school children could receive a small bale of cotton and educate the children about the heritage of the community. With the museum, future generations could be educated to understand their roots and where they came from. An exhibit of the Santa Cruz River, which already exists, could be incorporated into the museum. The Mesa Museum has the Santa Cruz River exhibit in storage, and they are willing to lend it to this museum. People from Fish and Game would like to help create an area around the museum that would have vegetation indigenous to what vegetation looked like when the Santa Cruz was running, labeling the vegetation. People are excited about the museum. An individual who did the paper called the Messenger has saved all the issues of the paper produced from 1977 for about 10 years, which he will give to the museum. We are also sorting through pictures to use in the museum. Ms. Harn would like to see the museum as a beginning, not an end. A gentleman who is an architect and knows about setting up museums is willing to donate his time. Ms. Harn is excited about the project and is at the Council's disposal ..., if she is needed. One of the things that should be done concerning the museum is putting together along-range plan, and Ms. Harn has contacts with others who have expertise in this area. Ms. Harn suggested getting that group together to start putting together a plan that will help to decide what will be done that will carry on in the future. MR. REUWSATT: Mr. Reuwsaat said he and Ms. Harn meet about every two weeks, and she has a lot of great ideas. More importantly, a lot of the community inside and outside of Marana has the same needs to remember where their roots are and to incorporate them into the future. To that extent, Mr. Reuwsaat asked Ms. Harn to pull people together and suggested that the Cultural and Historic Commission also help because they can be of significant benefit to the Cultural and Heritage Park. MS. HARN: One important thing to keep in mind is this will help the children to understand their heritage. MS. COMERFORD: Ms. Comerford said she would like to keep the gin where it is if she could. The entry into the town should be a welcomed and sufficient one. There is concern with moving the gin building without plans for an entry into the Town. MR. BLAKE: Mr. Blake was one trying to keep the cotton gin where it is and have ~,,, it utilized as a visitors' center, something to draw persons from I-10 into Marana and 5 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL a JUNE 15, 2004 then to be directed to other interesting sites in the Town, including Heritage Park. He had gone with Mr. Reuwsaat to look at the building. As is, it is beyond salvage, but parts and pieces of it can be salvaged. Another recommendation is re-creating the building as a visitors' center, located off the off-ramp from I-10, as something that can be identified on I-10 as a place to stop in Marana. It is the gateway to Pima County, not only Marana, and a place where people could come to get information about the town or sites they might find interesting. Mr. Blake said he still wants to see a visitors' center, and as of right now, he knows of no plans for one. We need a gateway to this town, and Mr. Blake had hoped we could use the cotton gin building to help create a gateway. Even though it is not salvageable, it could be re-created in a location where it could be part of a gateway to this town, and something like that is need. If we don't do this, we will be missing out on a tremendous opportunity to bring people into the Town of Marana. MR. ESCOBEDO: Some of us have been in Marana many, many years and have seen what the building did and how busy it was and what it did for the community. There is a picture that shows the two cotton gin buildings that were in the area right behind it, and you could actually see the Twin Peaks, so it has a lot of ,~,.. history. Mr. Escobedo remembers his dad putting him on his cotton sack and taking him down the rows with him, and the gin was there. They used to drop the cotton trailers off there. Mr. Escobedo agrees with everybody here that it does mean a lot for the community, but it is going to have something special and be brought back to life. There are other entry areas that can be used coming into the community. Using San Antonio as an example, they used an old mining facility, using a lot of the materials from the mine, and it is an entry into a portion of the community. The store fronts are built facing the freeway, but the stores are old mining shacks, and the same thing can be done in this community. Not only the one entry but every exit that comes off into the Town of Marana should be that way. Looking at Cortaro, seeing the back of Wal- Mart doesn't make me very happy. But once we have Twin Peaks and Tangerine and Marana and whatever direction we go, every exit should be inviting to whoever accesses the community. MR. REUWSAAT: Mr. Reuwsaat agrees all of that is a priority. The people who are going to invest in this community want the same thing, because they do not want to see this community develop out like Speedway or Grant or any other interchange where it is just business as usually. People who are going to invest want to see a theme that separates Marana from the rest of the interstate. It is exciting because the people who are willing to invest into the future are willing to invest into the funding 6 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 to come up with that. Mr. Reuwsaat and Jim have had the same discussion. It isn't just the Marana exit. It is the Tangerine exit, the Cortaro exit, the Twin Peaks. If we can establish the theme, it ought to be consistent throughout the community so that wherever people go in our community, they will know they are in Marana and what Marana is about. MR. HONEA: The entry monument into the Town of Marana sat right about across from the Chevron, and it was called the Mercantile. When the building was torn down, a lot of the blocks were put in where the court complex is, the green and red and blue bricks in that building. That has a lot of history. When they tore that down to build the freeway, people took a lot of those blocks and built that building. The entry monument was that structure. There was a dime store, a grocery store, an ice cream parlor, a barbershop and a little bar in that little strip center. It was built out of red brick. It had the big poles like are at the court. It is almost the same structure. The poles may have come out of there. That was the place people saw when coming into Marana to stop and eat or drink. We do need a special monument here, because this is the main entrance where the community is. Maybe we could build a smaller scale of that structure for a monument, like part of an end of it like the court is with the beam across the front and open walkway shaded underneath. It is old Marana. That was lost when the high school and the mercantile were torn down. We do need an entry monument. Mr. Honea agrees with Mr. Reuwsaat that we need to tie in the adobes and some of the red brick that were used in the old Marana buildings, substantial buildings, into the infrastructure of all the commercial buildings. Greg Wexler and a lot of people have bought into trying to tie that in. He is not against an entry monument. He was passionate about leaving the building there too, but trying to get more building and get us moving. If we have to do that building and spend $400,000, we are going to have just a building there. We could spend that money and get three or four buildings at the Heritage Park and start the cotton and ranching and mining museums and the other things, and that is what turned him around on that issue. Mr. Honea said he feels good having this conversation with everybody because everybody at this dais is passionate about this idea and that is a very good point about our community, that everybody here cares. We might have to make some tough decisions. He agrees with what everybody said. MR. ANDERSON: He said he had some association with a trade group called Cotten Council. They were a highfalutin, big-money organization in the southeastern part of the United States. They were very supportive of anything that pertained to the ~„ history of cotton, cotton products. They were readily throwing around 100,000 here 7 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 and there to support things, educating the public about the value of cotton and the history of the United States. This just fits right in with what we are trying to do here. They are either the Cotton Council or the Cotton Institute. It would be easy to find out where they are. Somebody from the Town could study up on what the Town wants to do and get in touch with the appropriate person, and we might do it right. Maybe with their financial help, it could be possible, and invite them to come here and look to see what is here. This is Pima County and cotton country. It's a major opportunity for both of us. MR. REUWSAAT: One step in what we have done was way back when we had El Dard (phonetic) do a chronological history of Marana. In thinking about that, Pima cotton from here is famous cotton. It was a staple in World War II in terms of the source for military ukes (sic), whatever that was. MR. ANDERSON: Now it is called Supima cotton, a variety that has been developed from Pima cotton. The American and Egyptian Pima has been bred it, and it is called Supima. Now it is a western portion of Pima cotton. The other is grown in Egypt. It is a good opportunity. It gives you the money to come out here and help us with our project. UNIDENTIFIED: If you get ahold of Tom and Mattie Clark, they just got back from a four-day tour in North Carolina. They could certainly help you. Mayor, the first original staple crop in Marana was potatoes, and they got a disease, so they went to cotton. This was the largest producing area of potatoes in Arizona at that time. We could take the Pinal Airpark Exit and do a military kind of atmosphere structure there. The Marana Exit can have the farming and ranching. Avra Valley could have a mining theme because that is where Silverbell loaded and unloaded all their equipment. We could do something else at Cortaro and each one of the exits into Marana to help do the heritage all the way through. Another thought that may have fallen by the wayside is to do some type of visitors' center where the exit is where the cotton gin is now and use some of the blocks out of there for the Chamber of Commerce or Visitors' Center or whatever that is. There could be a family restaurant there, a family automotive center like the Flying Js, and help set the tone for an entrance into the town. The cotton gin building should be saved, and everyone has assessed the property, but we have waited too long. There are a surprising number of people who have spent time at Pinal Airpark learning to fly. We could catch people before they get to the Pima Air Museum. You could carry those themes out as you progress through the 8 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL .,,,, JUNE 15, 2004 Town of Marana. MAYOR SUTTON: That is coming back on an agenda item MR. HONER: There has been discussion about this building for five or six years, and nothing has been done. Part of what staff is asking is to enter into an agreement with the owners of the property so we can go in and get the building. There have had transients break into the building. If we wait much longer, somebody is going to build a fire to cook something, or somebody is going to do something, and that building is going to be lost, and we are not going to salvage any of it. MR. HONER: Mr. Honea asked Frank if he was okay with a motion. FRANK: Mr. Mayor, as long as the motion relates to some kind of action related to Producer's Cotton Gin Building, it is properly agendized (sic). MAYOR SUTTON: The Mayor asked Mr. Honea to form a motion. MR. HONER: Mr. Honea made a motion to tell staff to set up an agreement with (unintelligible) Company to go in and gut the building -- we have to sign a "hold harmless" and stuff like that.-- and that we authorize staff to proceed on moving that building and the additional shed building to the Heritage Park with the help of the (unintelligible) Company. MAYOR SUTTON: With Yankee Point, LLC. We need a second. UNIDENTIFIED: Second it. MAYOR SUTTON: Moved and seconded for the suggested motion. Mayor Sutton called for further discussion and there being none, he called for a vote. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Sutton called the next item on the agenda, the communications tower for the new municipal complex, and turned the presentation over to Mr. Reuwsaat. MR. REUWSAAT: Mr. Reuwsaat introduced Anthony Cassella, stating things have moved very quickly in the IT, GIS and other areas since Tony has come aboard. Most important to one of the jobs that he has done is that, with regard to the new municipal complex, having the technical expertise and understanding Northwest Fire Department with the training tower and all the needs that the police department need for communication and dispatching, Tony is to be commended for the job he has done 4.,.... in a short period of time and the recommendations he has made, when we move into MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 the new town hall, the infrastructure in place will meet the needs of the staff, citizens, and council over time. MR. CASSELLA: Appreciating Marana's past heritage, we need to start discussing our future, in looking for approval to erect an 85-foot monopole to replace the existing 50-foot telephone pole in front of Town Hall. One of the main reasons for the monopole, specifically, is since we have mixed the idea of Northwest Fire placing their four-story training tower on our complex, which will be an additional 20 feet above the four-story tower for them to mount their antennas, we have explored every possibility of how to best utilize the space on top of the buildings of the new Municipal Complex for multiple antennas for both Northwest Fire and Marana. What it came down to is every roof line on all three buildings would be plastered with antennas, which would not look good, and it is not high enough for some of the items needed by both Marana and Northwest Fire. With the 85-foot monopole, it will allow Northwest Fire, Marana, and potentially other providers, to collocate on that monopole at the height they need and have no antennas on top of the municipal complex. The exhibit which has been provided sets forth what would be entailed: removing the existing telephone pole, erect the monopole, including the soil samples, architectural drawings, permits, also including erection of a 6- to 8-foot block wall around a, roughly, 40-by-40-foot area, which are shown in the pictures of the exhibit. A discussion ensued regarding the size of the fenced area around the monopole and the height of any buildings included within that fenced area, with there being concern regarding the aesthetic appearance and the amount of space, since the plan is to have a park in that area for the senior citizen center, which will be located in the old building. Mr. Cassella explained that each provider using the pole would have their equipment located in buildings within the enclosed 40-by-40-foot walled area. Each provider using the pole would need their own building or other type of structure in which to enclose their equipment, so the area would need to be large enough to accommodate the inclusion of each user`s equipment. He also stated that if the wall is 8 feet, the buildings will not be visible from outside the wall. He also stated he feels the proposed 40-by-40-foot area is necessary because of other potential users who would need their equipment stored, also, in other buildings or structures. There was discussion with regard to who is paying for the expense that would be incurred by Northwest Fire for their equipment and building, and it was stated they would be responsible for the expense of their equipment, unless there could be a trade-off for something for the Town of Marana. 10 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 In reply to number of access gates into the walled-off area, Mr. Cassella stated there would only be one gate, which would be large enough for a vehicle to get in with equipment, and hopefully the gate can be located on the back side of the walled area. There was discussion about the appearance of the monopole and the different antennas or dishes that would be installed on it and how it would look. Mr. Cassella explained some of Northwest Fire's antennas would have a horizontal protrusion of about 8 to 10 feet. and a vertical length of about 20 feet. The antennas for Marana Police Department would not be as long vertically. He explained that what is on the pole currently in use will be on the new pole, in addition to other antennas. Mr. Cassella said there will not be a lot of the 6-foot diameter dishes which are depicted in the picture in the exhibit, but there will be a number of the vertical antennas, the di-pole (sic) antennas, for both Marana and Northwest Fire. There was also discussion regarding color in helping to disguise or make the pole and antennas less noticeable, and Mr. Cassella said gray is the color mostly used. In answering a concern regarding airplanes, Mr. Cassella said there is not an issue with the 85 feet height for airplanes, although he is submitting paperwork to the FAA for it as a formality. There was discussion regarding possible relocation of the pole, but Mr. Cassella explained the FCC license for the Town of Marana is predicated on that specific location. If it is determined to move the location, regardless of how near or far from its current location, the issue becomes time. If a different site is chosen, the Town would need to apply for a new FCC license. Answering a question regarding the wall around the monopole, Mr. Cassella explained it is more for security, explaining the current equipment is very insecure, which is a problem. Therefore, number one, it is for security; number two is to block it from view for appearance. Mr. Honea pointed out the need for sensitivity to the appearance of the enclosure and the appearance of the additional equipment with additional providers, because it may not all be about revenue; it maybe about aesthetics and the example that is being set. MAYOR SUTTON: An idea was suggested that the revenue could maybe go to the senior center. As far as the wall to be built around the tower, a mural could be done around the wall and have a walking trail. Just keep in mind the functionality of what we are trying to do with the same idea of the first agenda item of being committed to the past so we take care of things we need to, but this is needed for the future of the . Town. 11 MINUTES OF HERITAGE MUSEUM AND COMMUNICATION TOWER STUDY SESSION MARANA TOWN HALL JUNE 15, 2004 At this time Mayor Sutton called for a suggested motion or idea. Mr. Honea moved to approve the replacement of the existing pole with an 85-foot monopole and a surrounding enclosure as small as deemed necessary. The motion was seconded. The vote was called for and the motion passed unanimously. III. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor adjourned the meeting. The time was ~S:~~XXX CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Heritage Museum and Communication Tower Study Session held on June 15, 2004. I further certify that a quorum was present. yn nson, Town Clerk 12