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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/13/2011 Study Session Minutes N STUDY SESSION MINUTES 11555 W. Civic Center Drive, Marana, Arizona 85653 Council Chambers, September 13, 2011, at or after 6:00 PM Ed Honea, Mayor Patti Comerford, Vice Mayor David Bowen, Council Member Herb Kai, Council Member Carol McGorray, Council Member Jon Post, Council Member Roxanne Ziegler, Council Member STUDY SESSION CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL. Mayor Honea convened the meeting at 6:02 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance and Approval of Agenda, Town Clerk Bronson called roll. Council Members Kai and Ziegler were excused; there was a quorum present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE /INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE. Led by Mayor Honea. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Motion to approve by Vice Mayor Comerford, second by Council Member McGorray. Passed unanimously. DISCUSSION/DIRECTION/POSSIBLE ACTION 1: Presentation: Relating to Community Development; information compiled while researching citizen concerns in the Marana Estates Neighborhood. Presented by T. Van Hook, Kevin Kish and Keith Brann. Ms. Van Hook noted that during study sessions and meetings with stakeholders in the Marana Estates neighborhood since 2006, issues have been brought forward regarding industrial uses adjacent to their neighborhood; specifically high traffic volume, speeding vehicles and dangerous truck activity. Staff from various departments has been working with residents to look at neighborhood visioning and long term goals as well as short-term projects to address concerns in the neighborhood. During the past year, town staff met 13 times with residents as well as held numerous meetings with local businesses and property owners adjacent to this neighborhood to try to solve some of their issues. Kevin Kish discussed the zoning of the area which has not changed much since incorporation in 1977. He then presented maps of the current land uses and zoning. Keith Brann stated that the traffic division did a traffic count or study of the subdivision in June 2011. The study looked at speeds driven, number of trips and types of vehicles based on the length of the vehicle. He noted 1 September 13, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes that any vehicle longer than 21 feet is classified as a truck, so that passenger vehicle -type trucks will not show up as trucks. Trucks are categorized as UPS, FedEx or trash pickup trucks. Mr. Brann then pointed out the traffic signage within the subdivision. The signage is in conformity with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The traffic study shows that there are a low number of trips or daily traffic within the subdivision. Average traffic speeds are at or below the posted speed limits. The number of trucks is significantly low. A comparable study was done in another Marana subdivision with similar results. Based on that, the traffic division didn't see any irregular traffic volumes or speeds within the subdivision. However, there have still been concerns by the residents, and there are measures that could be considered to address those concerns. Those include a multi -way stop at Amole Circle and Tortolita Street with Stop Ahead signs to warn motorists of that condition. Do Not Enter signs posted at specific locations, or at the end of Amole Circle and would prohibit traffic from entering westbound on Amole Circle which would force traffic back around onto Tortolita Street. This would essentially turn traffic into a one way route or situation. Speed humps — very wide, broad and flat that slow traffic is another alternative. They control speed but there are issues with them as well. These are typical traffic calming measures that could be considered. Another possibility is a new road to take business traffic outside the residential area — either private or public. If public, the commercial traffic would use that road instead of the residential streets. The town would have to acquire the right of way and also the real property interests of those businesses to not use the original existing streets; they currently abut and have a right to that private street. The traffic calming suggestions are not normally done without neighborhood buy -in, and since Ms. Van Hook has been working with the neighbors, he turned the presentation back to her. Ms. Van Hook stated that in order to come to a consensus, staff met with neighbors and presented the options over the summer, along with pros and cons for the options. During the last meeting, they were they were presented with an expanded version of the traffic study and then offered three petitions. One was to come to a consensus to put in a 4 -Way stop. Another was to put up Do Not Enter signs. A third was putting in Speed Humps. Fewer signatures than required came back for the three options. The neighbors then offered a separate petition noting the pros and cons of each option which the staff did not authorize. The neighbors' preferred option would be the building of a bypass road. They are not interested in traffic mitigation unless the other would not be an option. Staff from CIP and development services provided cost estimates for various mitigations, which she indicated on the next slide. Costs ranged from $219 for Stop Bars to $1,227,185 for the road construction with land purchase. Staff took questions from Council regarding the commercial history of the area, the cost of the road construction, traffic studies during the summer months, the type of vehicular activity other than commercial trucks, and the number of residents responding to the staff petitions 2: Presentation: Relating to Intergovernmental Affairs; update on the activities of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Presented by Josh Wright. Redistricting comes up every 10 years. This is only the second time there has been an IRC; previously it was handled by the state legislature, taking census data and redrawing state and congressional seats. In 2000, voters passed Proposition 106, creating an 2 September 13, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes independent commission to handle that duty by a five member board — two Democrats, two Republicans and a chairman who must be an Independent. This year due to the census numbers, Arizona picked up a ninth congressional district. The purpose of the IRC is to draw the lines for the ninth district as well as shifts in population. Mr. Wright then discussed the parameters for redistricting. He noted that the IRC is meeting regularly for soliciting public feedback, and presented draft grid maps showing some possible configurations of districts with population demographics only. All of the work has to be done before the 2012 election. He showed draft maps of both legislative and congressional districts. He noted that the Board of Supervisors for Pima and Pinal Counties will be changing their maps as well. Under the Pima County Board of Supervisors map, significant portions of Continental Ranch would be moved into District 1, currently held by Ann Day, with the remainder into District 3, currently held by Sharon Bronson. Mr. Davidson noted that a letter could be drafted on behalf of the Council to the IRC or the appropriate bodies or commissions to express concerns or make suggestions. Now is the time to start that process. Mayor Honea asked for a map of the entire congressional district, especially if Marana's district goes clear up as far as Flagstaff. Mr. Wright will get the full maps for the Council. Mayor Honea asked if this item could be brought back at the next meeting. Mr. Davidson responded that the item would be brought back as an action item and that staff will print out maps. 3: Presentation: Relating to Administration; regarding the proposed Town of Marana graphic standards. Presented by, who introduced two staff members who have been assisting in putting this graphic standards manual together — Rodney Campbell, PIO, and Kelsie Hanson, graphics designer. They have created a true marketing and public relationship unit within the town that will help us achieve our communication vision. He then presented the first step, which is branding the community. Mr. Wright noted that it is important to have a consistent look and feel to our public presentations through the use of our logo and seal. What he presented to Council is an abbreviated version of what will be presented to staff as part of the overall process. Vice Mayor Comerford asked for a copy of the presentation to be forwarded to Council. She asked if Council would be approving the final graphic standards manual. Mr. Wright responded that he would provide the presentation and the final document, but that the manual was more of an administrative function that does not require Council approval. 4: Relating to Boards, Commissions and Committees; discussion and possible action regarding a new citizen engagement model . Presented by Gilbert Davidson, Amanda Jones and Jocelyn Bronson. Mr. Davidson began the presentation with an overview of how to engage citizens to be active in town activities. He gave a brief history of citizen advisory commissions and how they were created. He noted that modifications have been made since their inception to improve them. Meetings were held with Council Members, staff liaisons, commission chairs and members of the commissions and a roundtable of all commissions to get feedback on what has been working and any ideas for improvement. The goal has been to link civic engagement to the strategic plan to make sure the public is educated and has a voice within the community. He stated that a consistent message he has heard throughout all of the meetings is how important it is to keep communication open in the community. This can be done by keeping the current commission structure or by developing a different structure such as will be presented this 3 September 13, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes evening. What would not change would be interaction with different industry groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce, realtors, developers, SAHBA and others. Amanda Jones presented the mechanics of the Marana Forum concept. There are three components — the Council Involvement which comes from suggested agenda items or topics, Staff Involvement, which will be research based, and Public Involvement which is member participation. Forum members will be appointed. For the first Forum, the current commissioners will be invited. Other appointments will be made as needed to complete the membership of about 30 -35. She discussed how the appointments will be made from Council, regional bodies, department heads and an at -large application process. The general process will consist of three meetings and a report on the recommendations of the Forum to Council for consideration and implementation. Meeting 1 will be devoted to a brief training, determining the issues and requesting data from staff. Meeting 2 will follow approximately two weeks later for data review, forming subcommittees if necessary, and beginning discussion. The third meeting will follow with any subcommittee reports, voting on tangible work products and electing a spokesperson to present the final recommendations to Council. Throughout the presentation, staff has referred to this proposed process as the Forum; however, Council, should they direct staff to move forward with the process, is being requested to choose the name of the process. Ms. Jones presented a slide with several naming suggestions to assist Council. Jocelyn Bronson presented the last three slides commencing with legal issues. She noted that Council approved an ordinance giving them authority to establish boards, commissions and committees. Should Council move forward with a new concept, there is no need to change that ordinance. Resolutions passed by Council created all citizen advisory commissions. The advisory commissions do not have to be dissolved prior to instituting another civic engagement process. However, if the Forum concept is approved, the Council could eventually rescind those resolutions. Before implementing this Forum concept with the public, management staff wanted to test the process using an identical process with staff. Approximately 35 staff below the supervisor level were randomly selected by Human Resources to participate and supervisors were asked permission to use these staff for this project. Permissions have been received, and the staff Forum will take place on Thursday, September 22. The only difference will be that the staff Forum will take place on one day instead of three to conserve staff resources. A facilitator and a scribe have been assigned. As with the public process, the staff Forum will have a pre - selected topic. The final recommendation(s) will be given to the Town Managers and Department Heads. The staff forum results and after- process survey results will be presented to Council at the Strategic Planning retreat. Assuming a successful staff Forum, staff will proceed to implement the public Forum. The goal is to have 30 -35 citizen participants. The first topic suggested will be how to achieve citizen engagement. 4 September 13, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes Mr. Davidson concluded the concept presentation and noted that any part of the process is open for modification or adjustment. Tonight, he is requesting Council approval of the concept and a name, if Council chooses to move forward The two things he is requesting from Council tonight is whether likes the concept, and if they like the concept, staff would move the project forward as indicated. If Council likes the concept, the naming would be the other aspect for Council approval. Council Member McGorray indicated that she liked the concept and suggested the name Marana Forum so that people are clear about what we're referring to. She asked when the meetings would be held. Mr. Davidson responded that it would be up to the members of the Forum after the initial meeting. Council Member Bowen indicated that he liked the concept and noted that he had attended the round table discussion. He stated that some of the attendees said they felt "directionless" in their efforts to provide input at their meetings. He asked who would serve as the facilitator for the staff test. Mr. Davidson responded that several staff employees had been trained as facilitators and scribes. Ann Berkman from Human Resources will be the facilitator and Laine Sklar will be the scribe, both of whom have been through the Arizona Town Hall training. With the public process, it still needs to be determined — either a citizen or a neutral person who is not part of the Forum. Council Member Post asked if 35 people was a manageable number to get things moving forward and then get a consensus. Mr. Davidson responded that is why it's so important to have the right facilitator and the right recorder. There will always be a facilitator and a scribe. All current citizen advisory commissioners will be invited to the process; however, not all commissioners may decide to participate and not all positions on the commissions were filled, so there will be opportunities for Council appointments. A Forum briefing at the initial meeting would provide an overview of the rules and procedures. The facilitator will share the rules of decorum and how to interact in a civil manner. The Planning Commission is not affected by this process. It is a regulatory body created by statute that cannot be changed by the town. Any of the Planning Commission members could serve on the Forum. The Utilities Board, which is linked into managing our hydroelectric power, will be in place of the Utilities commission. All regulatory bodies remain in place. Mr. Davidson noted that the Council appeared to approve the concept. He asked for feedback on the name. Vice Mayor Comerford asked where the feedback was coming from. Mr. Davidson noted that staff created a list of combinations to assist Council based on things they had heard. He also communicated to the president of the Arizona Town Hall that this process was under consideration. They will support Marana on this and they will help with training if requested. Vice Mayor Comerford suggested Marana Citizens Forum seems to capture the intent of the process, and that the facilitator will be the key part of the process and would like to establish guidelines for that at the upcoming retreat. Mr. Davidson concurred that a professionally training facilitator will be critical to the success of this project. Council Member Bowen concurred with the name Forum and stated that he liked Town Hall. Mayor Honea stated he liked Marana Citizens Forum and Council concurred without a formal motion. 5 September 13, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes 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. ADJOURNMENT. Motion to adjourn at 7.25 p.m. by Council Member McGorray, second by Council Member Bowen. Passed unanimously. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council meeting held on September 13, 2011. I further certify that a quorum was present. A�llll / /�j� JJ c Bronson, own Clerk y O" �ti� n i coo SEAL W //1111 6 September 13, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes