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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/10/2012 Study Session Minutes MAR STUDY SESSION MINUTES 11555 W. Civic Center Drive, Marana, Arizona 85653 Council Chambers, January 10, 2012, 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 called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Town Clerk Bronson called roll. All Council Members were present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE /INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE. Led by Mayor Honea. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Motion to approve the agenda by Council Member McGorray, second by Council Member Bowen. Passed unanimously. DISCUSSION /DIRECTION/POSSIBLE ACTION 1: Betty Horrigan Proclamation. Mayor Honea introduced Betty to the audience. Jocelyn Bronson read the proclamation. Mayor Honea commented on his long relationship with Betty, spanning 30 years. He also presented Betty with a branding iron and a brick — both dedicated to her employment with the town. The brick will be placed in the municipal complex courtyard. 2: Resolution No. 2012 -03: Presentation: Relating to Economic Development; supporting the development of a Union Pacific Railroad rail yard and industrial park in Pinal County Council Member Kai noted a conflict of interest on this item and excused himself from the dais. Presented by Gilbert Davidson, who introduced Ken Buchanan, Assistant County Administrator for Pinal County. Mr. Buchanan introduced Zoe Richmond from Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), Tim Kanavel, Jerry Stabley, Greg Stanley and Andy Smith from Pinal County and available to answer questions after the presentations. Mr. Stabley gave background on the area, including ownership, and how the area is tied to January 10, 2012 Council Meeting Minutes 1 Pinal County's Comprehensive Plan. Most of the land is controlled by State Land. Greg Stanley, then discussed the County's plans for regional transportation planning which includes the development area for the rail yard. Andy Smith, discussed the regionally significant route study which focuses on I -10. He pointed out the I -10 corridor planning level that ADOT is currently doing design work on which ties into Pinal County's preferred corridor and will affect the relevant area. Pinal County has identified a need where they would like to do more transportation planning in the area with Marana, and Eloy. Zoe Richmond from UPRR then presented Council with plans to build a classification yard which is needed to expand their presence in Arizona. She went on to explain the parameters to place the rail yard and what is considered a viable location for this. The Red Rock area is the ideal location for the yard, which is basically a place to sort trains. This project has been in the works since about 2005. The estimated cost of infrastructure is around $250M. Jobs at the site are estimated to be 250 and more indirect jobs as a result of vendors wanting to be close to the rail yard. But the ultimate expectation for the rail yard is to put the area on the map as a transportation hub for manufacturing and distribution. Ms. Richmond discussed a sister project in Santa Theresa, New Mexico, which has actually been started, to demonstrate that there has been a lot of ancillary growth as a result of the UPRR rail yard in New Mexico, although that facility won't be built until 2015. She noted further that the project would have little negative environmental impact on an area and would be an economic driver. In Arizona there are currently two large classification yards — Tucson and Phoenix, which makes the Red Rock area ideal for an additional classification yard. The first thing that has to happen, however, is to acquire the land. Ms. Richmond anticipates that there will be up to 20 tracks when the project is complete. Tim Kanavel next spoke to maximizing potential for economic development through this rail yard project. He further illustrated this industrial growth potential through.the Alliance Texas slides he presented during his discussion. He also noted for Council's benefit that Pinal County is part of Foreign Trade Zone 75 — a huge component of any multi -modal facility. He further explained what a foreign trade zone is — basically a competitive advantage worldwide. He then shared a comparison of Alliance Texas with a proposed Pinal Airport/UPRR rail yard and considerations for job creation as a result of this project going forward. Upon motion by Council Member McGorray, second by Council Member Post, to support this resolution, the resolution was unanimously approved 6 -0. The Town Clerk will forward the signed resolution to Pima County immediately. 3: Presentation: Relating to Utilities; update as to the Wastewater Rate Development and to solicit Mayor and Council feedback on the rate study assumptions Barbara Johnson presented this item, noting that it has been four years since rate increases were brought to Council. She noted that as the town gets into the business of wastewater, the cost of doing business is a major element to consider. Based on tonight's presentation, staff would like to come back next week for approval of the rate case and January 10, 2012 Council Meeting Minutes 2 the rate study based on the assumptions presented. Staff will come back again a year from July 2012 for another rate increase after a year of operating experience. Dan Jackson, Managing Director of economists.com, and the town's rate consultant since 2007, then presented the rate case that he and town staff will be working on over the course of the next few weeks. He noted that his presentation is a continuation of a process begun with Council in 2008 and gave a brief review of events from that time forward. He further noted that the next step in the process is to reassess the rate that was set in 2008 and set appropriate rates going forward in 2012 and 2013. Mr. Jackson noted that there are three major objectives of the plan: to make sure that the town has sufficient revenues to pay its operating expenses; to ensure that any debt that is taken out to acquire the system and make improvements can be covered by the rates charged; and to, per past Council direction, maintain parity with the rates charged by Pima County and minimize any disruption that the ratepayers will experience in the transition from Pima County to Marana. Rates are going up for everyone and costs are going up for wastewater systems throughout Arizona. In recognition of that, Council can set a rate plan that will bring the revenues needed and minimize the impact on the ratepayers. Mr. Jackson summarized the key elements of the proposal as outlined in his presentation presentation and responded to questions from Council regarding future increases. He expects to come back to Council next year regarding additional increases in the future. Just as other municipalities with wastewater facilities around the state will have to do, Marana will have to incur cost increases — they are a fact of life and they are coming. It will be prudent for the town to reassess the rates every year. The goal is to continue to mirror Pima County; they have another rate adjustment scheduled for July, 2013, which is when their ordinance runs out, although their adjustments probably won't run out. Mr. Jackson responded to a Council question that there are about 1810 customers currently within the north Marana system. He further noted that the cost of the system has not yet been determined. The first question to answer is what is the cost and then how will the town pay for it. The town will also be getting impact fee revenue which will be supplementing the rate revenue which will help pay for the acquisition and expansion of the system. Council Member Bowen made a motion for staff to move forward with the rate study in a manner consistent with tonight's meeting, second by Council Member Post, passed unanimously. Barbara Johnson made a final comment that per one of the charts presented by Mr. Jackson, Pima County rates were kept artificially low for an extremely long time, and the business people in the community offset that cost of doing business. Once town staff has an opportunity to review the efficiencies of the system acquired a week ago, town costs will look like Pima County's costs. Until efficiencies can be determined, customers in north Marana will initially see a drop in sewer bills for three months, and then those rates will stay even with everyone else. 4: Presentation: Relating to Strategic Planning; approving the draft version of the updated Strategic Plan and directing the Town Manager to obtain public comment on the draft version January 10, 2012 Council Meeting Minutes 3 Mr. Davidson presented this item, noting that the draft Strategic Plan is an update of the Plan adopted in 2009. He noted that the current Plan has been recognized nationally and has won a number of regional awards. At the fall planning session, Council set forth their objectives for amending the Plan. Del Post discussed the process for modifying the Strategic Plan and gave a brief overview of steps taken beginning with the planning session. Staff has been working on modifications and additions to make the Plan more focused per Council direction. He noted that redundancies were eliminated as well as strategies that have been completed during the last lifecycle, grammatical inconsistencies and been eliminated and the overall mechanics and readability of the Plan now make it a more useful tool for the public, staff and Council. The draft Plan is a compilation of Council changes and editorial changes made by staff. Mr. Post further noted that he welcomes Council edits and comments. He then highlighted some of the substantive changes and things that didn't change. The first is the Vision. During the planning session, Council decided that this document represents where they want to go as a town. The Overriding Principles were changed with the addition of "quality public service" and "invest resources to the direct benefit of Marana" to "financial sustainability" and "development of strategic partnerships." There was a previous Overriding Principle of "collaboration with citizens," and that was rolled into the "development of strategic partnerships." The Focus Areas largely stayed the same. Council made a few minor modifications to "Commerce" which was formerly entitled "Commerce Center," and "Community Building" was simplified to "Community." The other Focus Areas stayed the same. There were some modifications to the Goals. The "Commerce" goal was shorted and more focused on career - oriented commerce. "Community" is now more focused to "create a safe community where all people are motivated to be involved and feel connected and valued." Council determined at the planning session that "Progress and Innovation" adequately represented the Council's objective. "Recreation" has a minor change. It formerly referenced showing the Sonoran Desert. Since that reference is contained in the Vision, Council wanted to focus on how recreational opportunities can create economic benefits. The "Heritage" goal was shortened and strengthened to focus more on community character. Measuring staff and overall progress in these areas was added to the new Strategic Plan by Council direction. Success Indicators are now included after each Focus Area. This gives staff an opportunity to monitor and report on the progress in each Focus Area. In addition, staff created a numbering system to increase readability and the utility of the document. This helps to focus on the Council's objective to implement this document into everything that is done within the town. Also created was an index to make the document more user - friendly for staff and the public. Amanda Jones then briefed Council on how the draft Plan would be presented to the public for feedback and make sure that the appropriate outreach has been done. She presented a schedule of community events where there would be opportunities for Council and staff make presentations. Comment cards will be available at each event and town facilities and the Chamber of Commerce throughout the comment process. There will be a strong presence on the town website with a link to the Strategic Plan blog and a link to an online survey. HOA's and local media outlets will also have Internet links. January 10, 2012 Council Meeting Minutes 4 Open Houses will be held such as was done with the first Strategic Plan. She asked that Council let her know of any event they might like to attend or any event that is missing from the list. Mr. Davidson concluded by recognizing the staff who took the document and worked through all the edits, a very time - consuming process. Del Post, Amanda Jones, Frank Cassidy, Jocelyn Bronson, T. Van Hook and Tom Ellis. Breanne Lorefice and Rodney Campbell were also involved. All of the directors spent time working through the draft as well to make sure all levels of staff were involved. He then asked for comments and further direction from Council. Mayor Honea asked if Avra Valley Fire District could be included for outreach purposes, especially as regards possible annexations into the areas they current serve. Mr. Davidson noted that if there are things that Council would like to add, tonight is the beginning point for additional input from Council. He expects that the final document will be coming back to Council in March. Hard copies can be printed out for Council. Council Member McGorray and Mayor Honea congratulated staff on the work they have done. Vice Mayor Comerford asked for a schedule of events once the public outreach schedule is prepared. Mr. Davidson requested that some or all of the Council attend these public outreach events as much as possible. Mayor Honea noted that no formal motion was made to move forward; however Mr. Davidson stated that he felt a motion wasn't necessary at this time. 5: Relating to Liquor Licenses; recommendation to the state liquor board regarding a special event liquor license application submitted by PGA TOUR, Inc., for the 2012 Accenture Match Play Championship golf tournament, located at The Ritz - Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain. Jocelyn Bronson noted that this application is the standard request the PGA applies for each year and Council approval is required per Council policy. Staff recommends approval. Motion to approve by Council Member Post, second by Vice Mayor Comerford Passed unanimously. 6: Resolution No. 2012 -04: Relating to Municipal Court; approving and authorizing the Mayor to execute an intergovernmental agreement with Pima County for video court hearings of Marana Municipal Court prisoners being held at the Pima County Adult Detention Center Frank Cassidy presented this item, stating that normally it would have been a Consent item on a regular agenda. This continues the town's relationship with the county to allow the town to use the county's video court system. He also noted that the rates were not increased this year. Motion to approve by Council Member Post, second by Vice Mayor Comerford. Passed unanimously. 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. Mr. Davidson did point out that because the wastewater item was the only item scheduled for January 17 meeting, the wastewater rate item could be move to the first item on the January 24 study session agenda. Council concurred. January 10, 2012 Council Meeting Minutes 5 ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Honea adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council meeting held on January 10, 2012. I further certify that a quorum was present. J celyn . Bronson, Town Clerk `�tOFl Af � r SEA* .i. i S EAL i W;-P,will January 10, 2012 Council Meeting Minutes 6