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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/12/2014 Study Session Minutespo w N o 9 MARANA 7 JR1 0 STUDY SESSION MINUTES 11555 W. Civic Center Drive, Marana, Arizona 85653 Council Chamber, August 12, 2014, at or after 6:00 PM Ed I.3onea, Mayor Jon Post, Vice Mayor David Bowen, Council Member Patti Comerford, Council Member Herb Kai, Council Member Carol McGorray, Council Member Roxanne Ziegler, Council Member STUDY SESSION CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL. Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. All Council Members were present except Vice Mayor Post who was excused. There was a quorum present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCEIINVOCATIONIMOMENT OF SILENCE. Led by Mayor Honea, APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Motion to the approve the agenda by Council Member Kai, secon by Coun Member McCorray. Passed unanimously 6 -0. CALL TO THE PUBLIC. No speaker cards were presented. DISCUSSIONIDIRECTIONIPOSSIBLE ACTION D1: Relating to Parks and Recreation; overview, update and discussion regarding Marana's Tortolita Mountains Trail System. Presented by Tom Ellis who began by stating that the construction phase is corning to an end. The trail system plan has broad community support, funding and consistent execution over the ten years of existence with the intent to attract businesses and opportunities for its residents. There is over 37 miles of trail built up to the Ritz Carlton. It also provides access to Pima County's Tortolita Mountain Park. A kiosk along the trail provides users to sign in and give their comments. Most countries and states have been represented in this way. The Ritz Carlton has proved to be an incredible partner by employing guides during the fall and winter months. August 12, 2014 Study Session Minutes 1 Miraval and Canyon Ranch guests also take advantage of the trails. The town also partners with Oro Valley's Parks & Recreation department on special events. In 2012, the system was certified as an Arizona State Trail through the efforts of Jen Ward and other staff. This year the Wild Burro was given the designation as an official National Recreation Trail. These bring great recognition to the trail system. Arizona Highways magazine also featured our trails this year. Now that the construction phase is over, maintenance begins. Over 12 miles of trails have been constructed in the north part of the system. The 2015 budget included resources for maintenance of the system, but this will be an ongoing expense. He thanked Council and all outdoor enthusiasts for their support. D2: Relating to Tourism; update and discussion regarding the creation of the Town's tourism department. Presented by Curt Woody, who alluded to the previous presentation noting that the trails will be a good promotion for the tourism department. Curt's department was renamed the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to better represent both economic development and tourism. Initially, the town has set up the department and a destination marketing organization to help the Fitz Carlton with lead generation previously provided by the Tucson Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. MDI was selected to do a four -month lead generation campaign using a specific metric to follow the leads. They came up with 1008 meeting planners for the initial leads. The issue with lead generation is that it takes one to three years to see the results of the first campaign. The next phase was finding the consultant to identify assets and partners and hire consultants to tell us what this is going to look like. Davidson and Belluso was hired for this phase. Nine elements of success were identified. First was a meeting with town staff and stakeholders to identify our asset inventory of special events and analyzing other destination marketing organizations. Funding and expenditures were identified for the first year. Next was developing a list of potential partners and stakeholders for a tourism advisory board to find the best way to market the town. Further, performing a comprehensive SWOT analysis and analysis of other DMO's websites. Last was to develop a marketing plan to maximize our return on investment which should be completed within the next two weeks. The position of Tourism manager has been pasted, and we are starting to interview candidates. Council Member Ziegler would like to see a "report card" from Mr. Woody on the companies that have been brought to Marana. She would like this on a quarterly or bi-annual basis to let Council know what has been done to put Marana on the map with economic development. D3 : Relating to Utilities; presentation and discussion an current wastewater program operations. Presented by John Kmiec., Mr. Kmiec noted that the town inherited 1894 customers in 2012, but the customer accounts are at 2249 through the first six months of 2014. Issued sewer cards continued to increase. A sewer card is an intent to serve which demonstrates that there is sewer capacity. From an operational standpoint, we are on target with cash revenue coming in and moving forward with a positive balance. Treatment capacity is critical — currently, we have 500K gallon capacity per day. There was a dip in 2013, but our measuring device at the structure was starting to leak and needed repairs which accounted for the dip. After that more flows increased. Now we average August 12, 2014 Study Session Minutes 2 around 300K. gallons per day. Within the next few months, staff will begin looking at a design for expansion of the plant. Plant improvements include solids removal on the front end. To remove those solids, a bar screen was put in which is more efficient than the screw system that we inherited. We have a biolac system using a biological nutrient removal process accomplished through wave oxidation, which he explained. He continued to describe the curtain wall installation which was a fabric that moved. By putting in a solid curtain wall, it created more effective sludge thickening and clearer, clarified water. The current curtain walls are stainless steel, fabricated locally by Shaw Fabrication in Marana. Next he discussed future capital projects such as thickening the sludge even more so we have fewer hauls to Casa Grande. Another project is the Tangerine /Downtown Sewer Interceptor Line which should be moving forward for completion in the spring of 2016. We are finalizing negotiations with the design contractor. one of the construction mechanisms we're looking at is that once the design is complete, we might bid the project for construction in two parts. one part would be from Saguaro Bloom to Tangerine/1- 10, and the other part, once it's established, from the Tangerine /l- 10 area to downtown Marana. That would save us some time by having two active construction contracts going simultaneously to save even more time. Mr. Kmiec responded to a question from Council Member Ziegler about whether the $300K was in the budget for the sludge thickening. He indicated that it was. In the next few months, we want to start the design and construction of the treatment plant expansion. We are at about 60 -65% capacity right now and will continue to monitor that. The goal is to add IM gallon capacity to the 500K we already have for a gallons 1.5MG total capacity. Design and construction estimate are between $1 OM and $11 M. The last status report is on the groundwater recharge facility. we've identified the 49 acres east of the plant where we want to start our first aquifer groundwater recharge prof ect. The ultimate goal for being in the wastewater business is to make sure that our water resource portfolio has that permanent supply corning into it. So this is the process we're moving along with. The design and construction is estimated at $1.3M and we are hoping to be done by the middle of 2016. If the town is interested, there is the potential to add a public amenity to the facility. Council Member Bowen commented on the sludge and asked about the cost of sludge haul and marketability for sludge. Mr. Kmiec responded that it's $170K annually. There isn't that much sludge generated from a small facility. But once we get to 1.5 MG per day capacity, we could look at whether there's a market. Council Member Ziegler asked about the water reclamation operations manager and how that position will affect the Utilities department. Mr. Kmiec explained the role of the division water manager. Although formally retired, Harvey Gill will be staying on for a few hours a week to help out. D4: Relating to Police Department; discussion, consideration, and authorization to initiate a public outreach plan to educate the community regarding the need for a new police facility and the funding options to pay for the project. Presented by Gilbert Davidson. Through previous Council discussions, a number of critical needs have been brought forward to improve upon our various police facilities. He then presented a community outreach plan to educate citizens about this issue and to then bring back a recommendation and action items for Council consideration. August 12, 2014 Study Session Minutes 3 The outreach plan has three main components — the outreach element which would lead into a Council public hearing process and ultimately concluding with Council taking action. The outreach component would use a standard PowerPoint that could be modified for different groups. Part of that would be opening our facilities and providing tours to physically see what we're talking about. This would take the next several months. If Council wants to proceed tonight, we would begin to talk to the community August through November and come back to Council in November /December for public hearings. He presented a list of a variety of groups to reach out to include the Marana Chamber of Commerce and its many sub - groups. we would provide information to the public via newspapers, websites and face -to -face meetings. Two groups in particular to reach out to would be the Marana Citizens' Forum and the YIPS so that they are fully immersed and educated about the issue to be able to educate others. we can add other groups to this list. After reaching out and engaging with the community, dates for public hearings would be scheduled. At the second meeting, if the Council feels that they have been able to adequately inform the community about the issue, Council could take action to (1) approve an increase to the town's sales tax which would take about three months to implement through the Department of Revenue; (2) refer the action to a future ballot for citizen consideration; (3) deny the measure entirely; or (4) redirect staff. Two options that were considered but not presented were to impose a property tax, which the Council has indicated they have no interest in pursuing, and an impact fee. however, challenge is that we can't bond against an impact fee. we would still need money up front. It would take up to two years to fully implement. During the public hearings, if Council doesn't appear to have negativity toward the concept, the Council could vote to approve an excise sales tax increase. If there was concern that the public is not in favor of this, the Council could refer this to a future ballot and let the voters decide or the Council deny the measure entirely. The tentative date for action could be as early as December Z, 20 14. One of the Mayor's concerns is talking to the retail business community which is a big part of the town's operating budget. we could get citizens on board, but if we don't get businesses on board, we still have an issue. I would like to work hard on the Chamber part of the plan. Mr. Davidson concurred that a significant effort must be made to reach all business groups. There are ways to work with different elements of the retail community so that it wouldn't drive business away from the town. Council Member Bowen asked for clarification on the way the public outreach will be handled and about the various options for funding. Mr. Davidson then reviewed the PowerPoint to be used in the community, which includes photos, data on sales tax use by other cities and towns, and financial impact data. In response to a question by Council Member Ziegler, Mr. Davidson confirmed that if a sales tax increase was approved, it would be linked to an end date and not continue in perpetuity. The Council and Mr. Davidson and Mr. Montague continued a general discussion regarding funding, capacity on debt service and the key drivers to have this project completed. August 12, 2014 Study Session Minutes 4 Mr. Davidson asked for further direction from Council on g oin g out to the communit with this plan. Ma Honea commented on the number of entities that ma be proposin tax increases includin the Count $500-$700M bond packa in 2015, around 2017 the RTA ma be lookin at a ten- extension of $I B, in November MUSD will be askin for $125M and also in November the Count will be askin for $25M for animal control that will affect sales tax. That information should be part of the public outreach plan. Council Member Bowen concurred, and noted that he is in favor of g ettin g public feedback on the police facilit but that citizens should be aware of the g lobal aspect and not j ust our project, especiall since the other entities are out of our control. Mr. Davidson a that staff would include a g lobal view of what our communit is facin and the impact of other re increases. Council Member Zie also noted that the 17% propert tax increase ( 61 cents on ever $100 assessed) which we'll see in September should also be included in the g lobal view. Council Member Bowen said he would like to maintain the confidence the citizens have placed in the Council with respect to spendin and he char both Mr. Davidson and Mr. Monta with keepin them at " level" so that the town maintains its fiscal health. He thinks this project would be a g reat thin for our communit and would hone to g e t citizens behind it. A %_� EXECUTIVE SESSION Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03, the Town Council ma vote to g o into executive session, which will not be open to the public, to discuss certain matters. El: Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03 (A)(3), Council ma ask for discussion or consultation for le advice with the Town Attorne concernin an matter listed on this a FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Notwithstandin the ma discretion re the items to be placed on the a if three or more Council members re that an item be placed on the a it must be placed on the a for the second re Town Council meetin after the date of the re pursuant to Marana Town Code Section 2-4-2(B). ADJOURNMENT. Motion to ad b Council Member McGorra second b Council Y1 Member Zie at 7:24 p. m. Passed unanimousl 6-0. CERTIFICATION I hereb certif that the fore are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council meetin held on Au 12, 2014. 1 further certif that a q uorum was present. - ' o l ce n Bronson, Town Clerk 9 Au 12, 2014 Stud Session Minutes TQW.N_ 9;�