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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/25/2011 Study Session Minutes MARA CIA 10" Of MAUM MARANA TOWN COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MINUTES BOARD ROOM 11555 W. Civic Center Drive, Marana, Arizona 85653 Date: January 25, 2011 Time: 6:00 p.m. 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 ACTION MAY BE TAKEN BY THE COUNCIL ON ANY ITEM LISTED ON THIS AGENDA. Revisions to the agenda can occur up to 24 hours prior to the meeting. Revised agenda items appear in italics. The Council Chambers are wheelchair and handicapped accessible. Any person who, by reason of any disability, is in need of special services as a result of their disability, such as assistive listening devices, agenda materials printed in Braille or large print, a signer for the hearing impaired, etc., will be accommodated. Such special services are available upon prior request to the Town Clerk at least 10 working days prior to the Council meeting. A. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Town Clerk Bronson called roll. All Council Members were present except for Council Member Post, who was excused. She noted that there was a quorum present. B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Mayor Honea. C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion to approve moved by Council Member McGorray, second by Council Member Comerford. Motion carried unanimously. D. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION D l: Strategic Plan Priority Issues Gilbert Davidson provided an overview and reflection of the Strategic Plan accomplishments, improvements and recommendations which were adopted in 1 January 25, 2011 Study Session Minutes 2009. He noted that Council will also be asked to assign priorities for FY '12 and FY '13. He will conclude his presentation with an introduction of the economic recovery plan as revenues start to improve and some organizational restructuring to be more consistent with the Strategic Plan objectives. Mr. Davidson started with Commerce as the foundation of the Strategic Plan. In- progress is a business directory that will be part of our website redesign; strategic annexations will be brought to Council over the next several months that will be important to the town's long -term success; and infrastructure work at the airport, including wastewater and potable water improvements and lease modifications with the FBO. He then noted two recommendations of importance to add to a revised Strategic Plan, one of which would be complete infrastructure of the master plan with representation from all utilities. He indicated that he wants to take things out of the Strategic Plan that are redundant in the day to day operations. Progress and Innovation. In- progress is the green building program and a town - wide safety committee. There are no recommended changes at this time. Heritage. In- progress is the expansion of Founders' Day as a weekend event; and inclusion of the history and culture content on the new website so that the general public has access to it. Recommended changes are to evaluate the need for Heritage and Arts Board or Commission. Staff recommends removal from the Plan as another commission. The function should be with the Heritage Conservancy. Community Building. In- progress is the website redesign; Honea Heights Affordable Housing Project; and working with schools to locate new facilities in Marana Recreation. In- progress is the multi -event Western Heritage Complex; and developing a Bureau of Reclamation park site. Recommended changes are to develop a CAP reliability reservoir as a recreational amenity but remove from the plan as it is no longer a priority. Develop an IGA with State Land to control off - road use in the Tortolita Fan — revise the language to include `working with jurisdictions - State Land and federal government' — so it's just an expansion of the explanation. He would also like to perform a cost/benefit analysis of joining various tourism and marketing agencies, including the Metropolitan Tucson and Convention Visitors Bureau. He is recommending removal from the Plan. Mr. Davidson stated that we are coming to the end of the useful life of this particular Plan. We have accomplished most of the major areas contained within the Plan. His recommendation is to target this fall to have an extended retreat to start working on Vol. II of the Strategic Plan, coming up with new ideas and goals for this document. Setting Priorities. Next he set the stage for FY '12 regarding key issues and Council priorities. Council worked to assign primary or secondary issues for FY 2 January 25, 2011 Study Session Minutes 1 12 and FY '13. Attached as part of these minutes are the results of the priority setting exercise. Marana Economic Recovery Plan. This is separated into three parts: current Marana staff, resources and strategic positions. Current staff should be the number 1 priority. All of the things we provide to keep employees here - to reward and retain employee talent, to keep them engaged, motivated and to attract them to our community. So it's not only pay, it's the benefits, the health insurance, the educational credit — employee empowerment. We need to be mindful of whether we can provide benefits on a one -time basis or as an ongoing basis. Council discussion ensued, and several suggestions were made which will be transmitted to the committee working on this plan. Council would also like to have management look at performance based evaluations. Resources. The second area of importance is vehicles, computers for operations, and all of the equipment and tools in the field and facilities. Strategic positions. There are two parts to this. We have made tough choices over the past three years, reducing the size of our operation — going from 370 to 300 employees, but the amount of work has not declined. We are going to need to start looking at positions that will have to come back, including leadership positions in many departments. He reviewed some of the positions he has been considering, emphasizing that finding the right person to come into the organization saves money and time. Mr. Davidson stated that we will need to do some restructuring as we move forward with the Strategic Plan. This will help us improve how we are doing business. The first is ongoing — deputy town manager. The other position — and we would be one of the only jurisdictions across the state to have this — is to put Josh Wright into the role of heading of office of strategic initiatives. This group will be charged with working with department heads and general managers and teams to focus on things related to the strategic plan. This will take us to the next level of innovation and community engagement and empowerment. He then outlined other structural changes to help the organization be more successful moving forward. This concept allows for better sharing of more information. The remainder of the items are study session items brought forward by Council request. City vs. Town designation. Mr. Davidson noted that this item has come forward previously. We've had a request from a member of the public who would like Marana change from a town to a city. By becoming a city, there is absolutely no change in how we would operate — no benefit or gain. We could be a town of two million people and operate exactly the same way. The only difference in becoming a city is that you could have a charter. But having a title of `city' does not mean you are a chartered city. It just means that you can elect to have a charter. Nothing new has been added since this was brought before Council previously. Council Member Comerford noted that David Morales had 3 January 25, 2011 Study Session Minutes sent her a letter that he wanted to make sure all Council Members received and which she distributed. She noted that his main point is that the Council doesn't have the right to decide whether Marana becomes a city or stays a town, and it should go before the voters. Frank Cassidy stated that Council actually does have the right to decide that per statute. Council Member Ziegler asked if any other citizens have asked to have this addressed. Mr. Davidson responded that he wasn't aware of anyone else. Council Member Ziegler said that in the absence of a majority of citizens coming forward to have this change, Council has done its due diligence and presented the facts to the public in open sessions. Council Member Comerford made a motion to put the issue of city versus town to rest due to the fact that there is no benefit to the town based on rigorous research, Second by Council Member Ziegler. Motion carried unanimously. Citizen Advisory Commissions. Mr. Davidson noted this item has been raised every few months as to whether all the commissions are equally engaged in their tasks and with full understanding of their purpose. Council discussion ensued to review the function of Council appointed commissions and to revisit this item in a couple of months. Inter -faith Council. Council Member Comerford led the discussion by stating that she's had conversations with a variety of pastors who've said they would like to get involved with the town by perhaps having monthly or bi- monthly meetings. There have been requests for invocations at town events and Council Meetings, and this group could meet that need. They would be a self - governing group who would be available on a volunteer basis to be at special events. Council Member Comerford will be happy to coordinate the effort. Organizational Enhancement to meet strategic needs. This item was addressed earlier in Mr. Davidson's presentation and required no further discussion at this time. TREO. Mayor Honea led the discussion by noting that he and Mr. Davidson met with one of the co- chairs, Lisa Lovalo, and talked over some past history between Marana and the organization. Discussion followed. Mr. Davidson indicated that TREO has changed dramatically it is a much different organization than when it was essentially run by the City of Tucson and Pima County. The Board structure has changed, and the thought process has changed. Council is willing to listen if TREO comes to Marana and tells us what they're going to do for the town, but no commitment would be forthcoming just on that basis. Mr. Davidson concluded the working session with an update on various housekeeping items and noted that there was one item for discussion in an executive session, E 2. E. EXECUTIVE SESSION 4 January 25, 2011 Study Session Minutes A motion to go into executive session on Item E 2 was made by Council Member Clanagan, second by Vice Mayor Kai at 8:57p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 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 ARS 38- 431.03(A)(3) and (4) for legal advice and to direct town representatives concerning the lease between the Town of Marana and Arizona State Land Department for the Tortolita Preserve Motion moved by Council Member Comerford, second by Vice Mayor Kai for Mr. Cassidy to proceed as directed in executive session. Motion carried unanimously. F. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn moved by Council Member Clanagan, second by Vice Mayor Kai. Motion carried unanimously at 9 :18 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council meeting held on January 25, 2011. 1 further certify that a quorum was present. `� �� OF Z elyn ronson, Town Clerk �0� o i W1 5 January 25, 2011 Study Session Minutes