Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/17/2009 Regular Council Meeting Minutes"~'~~~~' ~".. ~A~~A ~~~~ r~+,.h ~. .~.~,. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING ' MINUTES 11555 W. Civic Center Drive, Marana, Arizona 85653 Council Chambers, November 17, 2009, at or after 7:00 PM Ed Honea, Mayor Herb Kai, Vice Mayor Russell Clanagan, Council Member Patti Comerford, Council Member Carol McGorray, Council Member Jon Post, Council Member Roxanne Ziegler, Council Member REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING „ .~ ~~. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All Council Members were present except Council Member Ziegler, who was excused. Council Member Clanagan arrived on the dais at 7:03 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE Cub Scout Troop 219, Dens 10 and 11 led the pledge of allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion by Council Member Comerford, second by Council Member McGorray to approve the agenda as amended. Item C3 was removed and Item BI to follow Item P2. Motion carried 6- CALL TO THE PUBLIC Judy Capers presented the Mayor and Council with a `thank you' plaque from the 2009 NW Pima County Relay for Life-and the Town of Marana relay team for the town's sponsorship. She also informed them the 2010 relay will be on May 1 and 2, 2010. David Morales asked the Council to challenge themselves by incorporating the "concept of greatness" he alluded to throughout his comments and task themselves to come up with something that does not exist that would benefit the town, and make it a reality, such as he did with his `tax valley' paper. Mr. Morales also announced that he would not be running for Mayor or a council seat at the next election. Tom Ellis announced that Jen Ward, a recreation coordinator for after school programming was recognized by the AZ Center for After School Excellence in October 2009. This is a statewide organization of after school providers. They awarded her the Jane Romatzke Leadership Award, which is the leadership award given to the #1 provider in the state. He showed a plaque from the Office of the Governor. PRESENTATIONS P 1: Presentation: Relating to Development; a presentation on the current status of the Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map process (DFIRM) also known as map modernization Presented by Keith Brann. He updated the council on the status of the new FEMA maps, known as map modernization. He reviewed where they were two years when FEMA issued draft maps that took into account on items that were not considered levees, including the CAP canal, I- 10 and Union Pacific Railroad. The entire Tortolita Fan was studied and looked into how the different structures would resist a base flood and modeled them. That study was accepted by FEMA this year in March and from that point we got back on track with map modernization which was put on hold while we did our study. The FEMA presented preliminary maps to the town in May 2009. Town staff reviewed them along with the other Pima County jurisdictions and made comments. At this time, FEMA has published these maps in the Federal Register and notices in the Arizona Daily Star. They can also be viewed at the Town Hall and on the website and on Pima County's websites. Because of this, we have entered the protest and appeal period for these maps. People who wish to dispute the mapping by FEMA and by reference, the town's drainage study, may do so. In order to effect how the mapping works, they would have to propose alternate scientific study. At this time, we have received one formal appeal and two protests orpseudo-protests. The town did issue a press release to the various media outlets, and we are also conducting outreach and notification such as this meeting tonight. Our website is up to date with this information, containing work maps and these maps from the CMG study. We've also been working with Pima County Flood Control District. They are assisting us and all other jurisdictions in Pima County. They assist in the review of the maps, creating specific applications to look at the new mapping side by side with the old mapping. At this time Pima County has made a public website to assist the public. There is also a link from the town's floodplain website. You can enter any address in Pima County to compare the old mapping to the new mapping. There are many layers that you can turn on and off. 'This will be used for public outreach and education. Other things that the town is going to do is coordinate with Pima County and other jurisdictions to hold public open houses -open forum houses to assist people in viewing the effects of the new maps on their properties and give recommendations on what they can do -how they can purchase flood insurance ahead of time and grandfather those rates. The town will also identify every property affected by the map change and notify every owner with a -recommendation of what staff thinks they should do. There are issues with grandfathering flood insurance and the cut-off date of 1984. Staff will continue to provide counter assistance for walk-ins. P 2: Presentation: Relating to General Government; presentation on the 2010 United States Census Presented by Josh Wright. He gave a brief update on the status of the 2010 US Census. It is a count of everyone living in the US that occurs every ten years. There are other surveys done in between, but this is where a lot of our demographic data comes from. It's used to distribute congressional seats to the states, and over $300B in federal funding is distributed based on what's collected in the census questionnaires. That's about $3,000 in federal funding eligibility per person. There are many programs that rely on census data from workforce development to healthcare to agriculture to law enforcement and highway safety. It is required bylaw to participate. It's not something that's talked about a lot as an enforcement but it is in the US Constitution. To dispel some common myths, not even the President can get access to census data before the formal delivery date of the overall package to him. The 2010 census is a little different in that it's only 10 questions. The town has been preparing and working with organizations regionally for some time - as early as 2007-08. There was a lot of GIS data work with PAG and the County. Now we're getting into the high-gear period. On March 1, 2010, the census questionnaires will be mailed to all residents. April 1 is what they call "Census Day." This is the day the Bureau is hoping to have the returned data. If there's no response to the first questionnaire mailed, they will send another one during April. If by May there is still no response, they will make an attempt to send a local census worker to the door to do a questionnaire in person. If you don't respond to that -that's it. The time has passed. Those dates are very important. December 31 is the official day that the Census Bureau delivers its package to the President. April 1, 2011, we will see the data at a more local level -from the state to the cities and towns. So we will not see the data for a year after it's been collected. Marana was selected as the site of the rural office for the Census. There is a metro office that serves just the City of Tucson. There is a considerable population of snowbirds, and that is our biggest concern in Marana in terms of public outreach and education efforts. We need to make sure we get those people early on so that they don't take the census somewhere else. The goal of the complete count committee -the PAG sponsored organization to coordinate efforts -their goal is to raise overall county participation by 10%. It was 67% in 2000. Marana's been very successful with about 77% participation in 2000 -the second highest in Pima County behind Oro Valley. The highest in the state was the City of Litchfield Park. Our local outreach plan has been developed for staff to get the word out in the community. Council assistance will be valuable. Implementation will begin before the end of the year. By January 2010, the census information will be posted in English and Spanish on the town's website, homeowner's associations and civic groups. That will be ongoing until the census is released to the public. Particular attention will be given to age-restricted communities due to individuals who leave in the April-May timeframe. He noted a consent item on tonight's agenda that is really for support to show that we are committed to the region and the US Census Bureau. ANNOUNCEMENTS/UPDATES PROCLAMATIONS MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS: SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS Council Member Clanagan reported he had been at the Coyote Trail Elementary School with a committee tasked. to recommend to the MUSD governing board whether there should be a 15% override election in March or November of 2010. There is a dire need for additional funding for MUSD based on what's going within the state budget. He expressed his hope that everyone appreciated the value of education and the need to support the schools. Also, Saturday is the 27tH El Tour de Tucson cycling event. With the exception of the children's rides, all riders will come through Marana. Mayor Honea reported that he and Gilbert Davidson and Erik Montague attended the Arizona Town Hall in Flagstaff. There were a lot of people from around the state including elected officials and from many other fields. It was very eye-opening. The state is in a lot of trouble financially, second to California. He stated that we would have to be creative going forward, but that we will make it. The Mayor and Josh Wright went to Phoenix to work on some of the zip code items with the US Postal Service to help obtain better identification of many Marana residents. He felt that some good progress was made even though more research is needed. MANAGER'S REPORT: SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS Mr. Davidson noted that the Council Executive Report is being finalized and will be to Council by the end of the week. It will be a recap of projects over the past month. STAFF REPORTS GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS CONSENT AGENDA Motion to approve as amended moved by Council Member McGorray, second by ice Mayor Kai. Motion carried 6-0. C 1: Resolution No. 2009-189: Relating to Development; approving a release of assurances for Twin Peaks Highland and acceptance of public improvements for maintenance Mayor Honea noted a typographical error in the Council communication sheet, which says "San Lucas Block 9" instead of Twin Peaks Highland. All other material is correct. C 2: Resolution No. 2009-190: Relating to General Government; affirming the Town of Marana's support of, and partnership with, the 2010 United States Census c~• D„1„~;.,.. ~., D„b,l;,, ~xl.,«L~. ., .. X1,0 ., ~;~;.,,,, ..F,«..i„~ ..~ «..,.. ~ ,-+b.,-oo ,- .,.i,..~., ~~~ , ~ ~ Removed. C 4: Minutes of the October 27, 2009 special meeting and the November 3, 2009 regular council meeting COUNCIL ACTION A 1: PUBLIC HEARING: Ordinance No. 2009.23: Relating to Development; rezoning of approximately 58.4 acres of land located east of Wade Road and approximately one-quarter (1/4) mile north of Ina Road from `R-144' (single-family residential -minimum lot size of 144,000 square feet) to `R-36' (single-family residential -minimum lot size of 36,000 square feet) The Mayor declared a public hearing. Presented by Kevin Kish who stated that The Planning Center is representing the property owners. He then gave an overview of the project and its location using a slide presentation, noting that the project is within the range of low density residential and fits within the General Plan. Several jurisdictional washes have been identified for the project. He then presented an exhibit that shows how the washes would be protected and preserved. There would be a 40% disturbance of the site. The original report did recommend approval. The Planning Commission held a meeting in August 2009, and they voted to recommend denial to the Council on the second vote. Speakers included Judith Meyer, 3845 Camino de Oeste, Ed Verburg, 555 W. Lazy C Drive, Dean Reardon, 7570 N. Wade Road, Henry Williams, 7675 N. Wade Road, Rocky Webster, and 7659 N. Wade Road. The speakers were not objecting to the project but concerned about protecting the natural habitat areas, height of homes that would affect views, the density affecting traffic and noise. Ms. Meyer was particularly concerned about being able to maintain biological diversity within the zoning. Mr. Verburg spoke regarding the main issues as they pertain to wildlife corridors. Mr. Reardon noted that his residence is immediately next to the property on the north side. He was concerned about his views and privacy. Mr. Williams noted that he and his wife had just moved to their property from Pennsylvania. He, too, is concerned about protecting the wildlife near his home. Rocky Webster moved to Marana from Tucson in the 1980s. He and his wife are concerned about traffic and noise and light pollution that has already been diminished by the developed that has taken place. He and the others who spoke are requesting that the rezoning be denied and the developer be required to develop under the current zoning rules and regulations. Jack Neubeck, The Planning Center, representing Mr. and Mrs. Bud Cardinal, spoke on their behalf. He noted that he basically agreed with the conditions set forth by the staff. He noted that he has consent signatures from several of the adjacent owners. Anyone who knows Mr. Cardinal and the product he does knows that he does a quality project. Great strides have been made to preserve the jurisdictional washes and wildlife corridors. Westland Resources has spent a considerable amount of time to come up with this plan. Council Member Clanagan asked if there had been neighborhood meetings. Mr. Neubeck responded that there had been a meeting on June 11, 2009 and people were given an email address to ask questions. He noted that Mr. Cardinal owned the majority of this property for about 20 years. When he first came before Council several years ago, the density was much higher. Mayor Honea closed the public hearing and asked for a motion from Council. Council Member Comerford made a motion to approve the ordinance, second by Council Member Posh Motion carried 4-2 with Council Members Clanagan and McGorray voting nay. A 2: Resolution No. 2009-191: Relating to Personnel; approving a temporary personnel policy regarding employee leave; and declaring an emergency Presented by Suzanne Machain. She noted that the effect of the request to approve a temporary personnel policy would be to relax some of the current policies. Due to the contagious nature of the two strains of flu -seasonal and H1N1 -that are currently circulating throughout the nation, the town would like to take precautions by having employees not come to work if they are sick or think they are getting sick. Some employees have not met the eligibility requirements for sick or personal leave or have used their leave, and may feel that they can't stay home. This temporary policy would relax the existing policy and allow for vacation as well as sick or personal leave to be used. Also, donated leave -normally used only for catastrophic illness - would be allowable under these circumstance. This temporary policy could be lifted at any time at the discretion of the Town Manager. Motion to approve moved by Council Member McGorray, second by Council Member Clanagan. Motion carried 6-0. BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES B 1: Presentation: Relating to Economic Development; presentation on the progress of the "Shop Marana" campaign currently being developed by the Business & Economic Development Citizen Advisory Commission Josh Wright introduced the speakers. He also noted that this item is included in the Strategic Plan. Presented by Amber Smith and Kelle Maslyn. Ms. Smith began by showing a slide of the proposed "Shop Marana" logo. The logo is "Shop Marana Today, Build Marana Tomorrow. The first purpose of the campaign is to put tax dollars being spent go back to the community - roads, parks, and everything we like to enjoy in Marana. The second purpose is to help identify the town limits and boundaries so that the town is showcased for everyone. They researched six communities in the state that have offered similar campaigns, including Oro Valley. Surveys of 300 Marana business were sent out asking what they would like to see in this campaign. The goal is to have a trial run from May 15 -August 15 in 2010 to capitalize on the fact that snowbirds are gone and school's not in session, and then do a full run during next year's holiday season. Regarding media outreach, they would like to include a website with a map of the town's participating businesses, print media, radio, posters and television. Everything depends on budget and money. She then explained how the campaign would work. Discounts should be at least 10%. The logo was financed by Comcast and designed by Jolene Campbell. They want to take it in two directions to maximize the advertising potential -bumper stickers, banners, etc. and noted again the campaign depends on how much money can be raised through sponsorship opportunities, donations, and fundraisers. Business participation would be through discounted shopping. There will be different distribution points for the shopping cards. Many aspects still have to be determined. B 2: Presentation: Relating to Parks and Recreation; naming process for the new district park under construction at Silverbell and Cortaro Presented by Tom Ellis, who gave the Council some information on the history and current status of the planning, design and construction of the park. Since the project came about, reference to the park has been "Silverbell/Cortaro District Park." In keeping with the Strategic Plan, it was proposed to have a contest to rename the park that would reflect the park site's historic importance. Staff and the Parks CAC made some attempt, but decided that because it's a community park, the contest made sense. In September, information was put out in the local media asking people to send in ideas or suggestions. Over 92 suggestions were made. At the October Parks CAC meeting, the members whittled the list down and bring their suggestions to Council for consideration of about three names. Then they would go back to the public and have the public vote on it after again streaming it to the various media sources. It is expected that on February 27, the park's name will be revealed. The following names were selected for consideration by the Parks CAC. (1) Bohorquez Ruins Parks because the old ranch is there and the structures have been preserves and will be interpreted on the site. (2) Ancient Trails Park. Because the Anza Trail, Butterfield Station, the Mormon Battalion, Silverbell Road -people have been traveling up and down that Santa Cruz route for over 4,000 years. (3) Crossroads Park -sent in by a number of people -because of the trails intersection with the Yuma Wash (4) Legacy Park because we are remembering where we came from and leaving our own trail for future generations (5) Storyteller Park because the Native American elder is the storyteller and stories will be told through families about experiences they had at the park; the library is full of stories, and the park will be a center for interpretation for not only the archeology but the ranch, the trails, the river and everything going on around there. Staff would like Council to think about the suggestions and come back with a recommendation to take back to the public. Comments from the Council included why not consider all names -not just three. Consider that "Marana" be included as part of the name to identify it with our community. Make sure that the name is unique and distinctive to not be confused with other places in the Tucson area. Mayor Honea noted that no action would be taken tonight. Council Member Comerford asked if the name(s) should be selected before the dedication. Once the short list is decided on at the December 1 Council Meeting, Mr. Ellis would like to announce the name(s) at the holiday tree lighting on December 5. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION D 1: Legislative Issues: Discussion/Direction/Action regarding all pending bills before the Legislature Steve Huffman presented, stating that the Governor has called the Legislature into special session, starting at 3:00 p.m. today. The House and Senate will be meeting tomorrow and the Appropriations hearing is scheduled for Thursday. The stated goals are hopefully to have an abbreviated session. As noted previously, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee increased the current fiscal year shortfall in the state general fund budget from $1.SB to $2B. This legislative session is being called with the intention of reducing that fiscal year shortfall by about a half a billion dollars. It will still leave about a billion and a half dollar shortfall. With this fiscal year the expectation - if they are successful in passing something - would be to try to resolve the remaining budget issues in the legislative session starting in January. That will provide some unique challenges for us and everybody that is depending on the state to take some action, and we'll certainly be looking at pretty significant mid-year budget cuts from the legislature. At this point with three draft bills that have been presented, we're not sure what's going to come out at the end of the process. Cities and towns have not really been targeted in any of these bills. There are some fairly minor sweeps of funds. The most significant thing that could have an impact on us are proposed reductions for the LTAF 1 and LTAF 2 which are the lottery funds that go to local transportation projects. About $2.3M in LTAF 1 and $1.M in LTAF 2 would be distributed across the state. In the big picture, revenues continue to look bad. Lottery sales are the only revenue sources not suffering losses. Revenues are coming in below even the lowest projections. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS Motion to go into execution session on E 3 and E 4 by Council Member McGorray, second by Vice Mayor Kai. Motion carried 6-0. Council left the dais at 8:25 pm. Council returned to the dais at 9:16 pm. E 1: Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03 (A)(3), Council may ask for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the Town Attorney concerning any matter listed on this agenda. E 2: Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3),(4) and (7), discussion or consultation for legal advice with the Town's attorneys and discussion and to consider its position and instruct the Town Manager and staff concerning (1) the lawsuit entitled Town of Marana v. Pima County/Pima County v. Marana (consolidated), Maricopa County Superior Court No. CV2008-001131, (2) pending legal issues, settlement discussions and contract negotiations relating to the transition of Marana wastewater collection and treatment to the Town of Marana E 3: Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3),(4) and (7), discussion or consultation for legal advice with the Town's attorneys and discussion and to consider its position and instruct the Town Manager and staff concerning possible acquisition of certain water infrastructure and accounts and water rights and/or resources E 4: Executive session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(4) to consider the Town's position and instruct the Town's attorneys regarding a potential settlement of the case entitled United Fire & Casualty Company v. Pima County, Case No. CV 08-381-DCB, involving sewer installation and connection within Honea Heights Motion by Council Member Clanagan, second by Council Member McGorray to proceed as directed by legal counsel, approving settlement of the lawsuit in the amount of $625,000, and direct staff to bring an item back at the next Council Meeting to discuss possible funding mechanisms Motion carried 6-0. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn. moved by Council Member Comerford, second by Council Member Clanagan. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council meeting held on November 17, 2009. I further certify that a R. onlix~,was present. ~ " ~~ e"~ yeaso®rr ° ,~ a ~ CpNPOR~f ~ ocelyn „ .Bronson, Town Clerk t"~ ~ '~3 °' d ~® ,9°®®e®eue~o®®°°°~ ~~