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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-12-2023 Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes MARANA AZ ESTABLISHED 1977 MARANA TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING/RETREAT 9251 W. Twin Peaks Road, Tucson, Arizona 85743 White Stallion Ranch, Longhorn Meeting Room, September 12, 2023, at or after 9:00 AM Ed Honea, Mayor Jon Post, Vice Mayor Patti Comerford, Council Member Jackie Craig, Council Member Herb Kai, Council Member John Officer, Council Member Roxanne Ziegler, Council Member SUMMY MINUTES CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 9:09 AM and directed the Town Clerk to call the roll. All Council Members were present,constituting a quorum.Vice Mayor Post and Council Member Kai left the meeting at 12:57 PM,and a quorum was still present in their absence. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE: Led by Mayor Honea. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Council Member Ziegler moved to approve the agenda as presented. Council Member Officer seconded the motion. Motion passed, 7-0. CONSENT AGENDA Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 1 of 9 Cl Resolution No. 2023-085: Relating to Development; approving an amended final plat for Gladden Farms Commercial Center Lots 1 -8, generally located at the northeast corner of Lon Adams and Tangerine Road (Steven Cheslak) Council Member Ziegler moved to approve the consent agenda. Vice Mayor Post seconded the motion. Motion passed, 7-0. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION D1 Relating to Mayor and Council; planning session for the spring 2024 Council retreat, including discussion of the purpose and goals of the retreat, identification and prioritization of topics, and discussion of possible locations and venues (Terry Rozema) Town Manager Terry Rozema introduced this item. He informed Council Members that the purpose of this item was to generate discussion and to help Town staff in planning Council retreats - for example, when and how often to have them, where to have them, what topics should be covered, etc. Discussion among Council Members and Town staff ensued,the major points of which are highlighted below.Clarifying questions were asked and answered throughout the discussion by various participants. Please note that the minutes for this item are organized topically rather than chronologically. A morning break was taken from 10:00 AM until 10:28 AM, and a lunch break was held from 11:14 AM until 12:07 PM (audio recording was resumed at 12:08 PM). All Council Members were present after the breaks, constituting a quorum. Retreat Purpose Council Member Comerford said that a retreat should be an opportunity to go into more depth and to fine-tune operations between the Council and Town staff. Vice Mayor Post said a retreat is a time for long-range planning and could include brief department presentations focused on the long game. He said it was a time to discuss things that need to be set in motion now that might not take place for ten years or more. He said long-range plans were discussed at the last retreat, and the next retreat is an opportunity for an update on those plans. Council Member Craig agreed that long-range planning was an appropriate purpose for a retreat. Retreat Location Mayor Honea said he liked holding retreats at the Wigwam Resort in the Phoenix area. He expressed concern about having the retreat too close to the Town and said having the retreat far enough away provides for opportunities for the Council to network. Vice Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 2 of 9 Mayor Post agreed and said having it away from the Town helps him focus on the purpose of the retreat rather than the day-to-day concerns he would have if it were in the Town. He said he liked the Wigwam Resort as well and said there is also a nice resort in Chandler. Council Member Ziegler was also in favor of the Wigwam Resort. Council Member Kai agreed that the Wigwam or somewhere in Phoenix was the best way to go and mentioned they could potentially have the retreat on the eastside of the Phoenix Valley as an alternative. Council Member Officer said he doesn't mind the Wigwam but expressed concern that there are only a couple of places to eat around that location. Council Member Criag also said she liked the Wigwam, but if it was far more expensive than other options, the Town should look into those options instead. Mr. Rozema said that staff would compare other venues in the Phoenix area with the Wigwam in terms of price, amenities, and proximity to food establishments and would provide that information to the Council for final selection. The Council reached a consensus on this approach. Retreat Format Vice Mayor Post, Council Member Ziegler, Council Member Craig, and Council Member Officer said they do not prefer tours as part of the format. There was a general consensus to remain onsite for the retreat. Vice Mayor Post proposed hearing reports from major departments, such as Water, Finance, Development Services, Public Works, and the Manager's Office, on where they have been, where they are now, and where they are headed. Council Member Craig preferred such reports be provided at times other than the retreat and expressed a desire to discuss more substantive things the Council does not normally hear about, such as the art policy discussion presented at the last retreat. Council Member Comerford said a retreat is not the time for staff reports. Council Member Ziegler agreed with Council Member Comerford and Council Member Craig. Vice Mayor Post said Council Member Craig brought up a good point, and that the last retreat consisted of too much information during the presentation and less time for conversation and discussion. Mayor Honea recommended that staff could be instructed to present for only 30 minutes and to leave the remainder of the time for Council discussion. Mayor Honea proposed having guest speakers, such as Mark Reader with Stifel to discuss bonds and other financial topics, Mayor Doug Nicholls from Yuma to discuss items related to the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, Farhad Moghimi from the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to discuss RTA Next in more detail, Ted Maxwell from the Arizona State Transportation Board and/or Roderick Lane from the Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 3 of 9 Arizona Department of Transportation to discuss upcoming projects, and/or representatives from the Arizona Legislature. Vice Mayor Post and Council Member Ziegler were in favor of the idea of having guest speakers. Vice Mayor Post said there would likely only be time for just two guest speakers during the retreat, and he and Mayor Honea agreed that Mark Reader should be one of them. Mr. Rozema summarized the format as follows and sought confirmation from the Council: presentations would be okay so long as there was plenty of opportunity for discussion and that tours were okay so long as they were optional and that Council generally would remain onsite. Council Member Ziegler, Council Member Craig, and Vice Mayor Post staid they did not wish to go on tours unless there was a hot-button issue where seeing something in person would be important. Vice Mayor Post also highlighted the need for Town staff to be well-prepared for more discussion and questions. Retreat Topics • Transportation/ RTA Update Discussion ensued regarding Cortaro, Tangerine, Moore, and Marana interchange projects and timelines. Council Member Comerford,Vice Mayor Post,Council Member Kai, Council Member Ziegler, and Council Member Officer said transportation is a topic that should be discussed at the retreat. Mayor Honea said it seemed like everyone would like to hear about transportation,and he said part of the discussion should involve having a long-range plan of priorities in light of financial and capacity considerations. Council Member Officer said part of the discussion should involve how the Town can improve relationships with the Department of Transportation for projects along I-10. Council Member Ziegler expressed a desire to hear from the RTA and to receive more detail regarding proposed projects. • Water Vice Mayor Post, Council Member Kai, Council Member Craig, Council Member Ziegler said water acquisition should a topic at the retreat. Vice Mayor Post and Council Member Kai highlighted the need to not just discuss water acquisition, but to make decisions on water acquisition at the retreat. Council Member Kai was also in favor of quarterly reports on water. • Employee Retention Council Member Kai said one of the topics should be employee retention. Mayor Honea said employee retention is important and that attracting and retaining employees has become very competitive. Council Member Ziegler agreed employee retention was Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 4 of 9 important, but she said she was not sure what else could be done in light of what the Town has already done in recent years. Mayor Honea said that the problem is that employee retention is a moving target and provided examples of how Tucson and Oro Valley have implemented more incentives after the Town completed its compensation study. Mr. Rozema said that employee retention is an important topic and highlighted the work the Town has done over the last couple of years. He said it is something staff will look at an evaluate each year, but that it likely was not a great topic for the retreat. • State Land Mr. Rozema proposed having the new director of the State Land Department to attend and discuss Department and Town priorities related to State land within the Town limits. Vice Mayor Post said he was not interested in residential development on State land,but potentially commercial development. Council Member Kai said it would be important to meet the new director. Council Member Craig said it would be good to discuss potentially purchasing the Tortalita Preserve. There was a consensus among the Council Members in favor of hearing from the State Land Department at the retreat. • Finance Council Member Ziegler and Mayor Honea expressed a desire to hear about bonds, finance-related topics, and project budgeting in light of inflation. Council Member Comerford expressed a desire to discuss prioritizing projects and funding across Town departments. • Planning Commission Council Member Ziegler said one of the topics should be related to the Council paying more attention to what is coming before the Planning Commission. Council Member Comerford agreed. Mayor Honea highlighted the need to pay more attention to what is happening up front, and Vice Mayor Post highlighted the Amazon facility on Silverbell Road as an example of the importance of paying close attention. • Strategic Growth Council Member Craig said one of the topics should be strategic planning for growth (where development should go) and another topic should be strategic planning for maintaining open space. • Economic Development Council Member Comerford said one of the topics should be economic development and what the Town can do to increase economic development within the Town. • Information Access and Employee Training Council Member Officer said that discussion of an information sheet for Council Members to help access information and answer questions should be a topic at the retreat. Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 5 of 9 He also said it would be good to discuss equipment rodeos where maintenance staff can learn new tricks of the trade. PRESENTATIONS P1 Relating to Transportation; presentation by Kittelson & Associates providing an update on the Transportation Master Plan project (Fausto Burruel) After the lunch break concluded (see above for the timeframe), Mr. Rozema and Public Works Director Fausto Burruel introduced this item. Mr. Vamshi Yellsetty with Kittelson & Associates presented. A copy of the presentation slides is on file with the Town Clerk's Office and attached to these minutes as Exhibit A. Clarifying questions were asked and answered during the presentation. For more details, including statistical and graphical information, please see the presentation slides. Mr. Yellsetty explained that they have received input on the transportation master plan from the public and from stakeholders, and they hoped in this meeting to receive guidance from the Town Council. He said that phase one of the Transportation Master Plan project was a huge success, especially regarding the survey response rate, and then went over the presentation slides. Vice Mayor Post asked if the study thus far took into account the closure of Orange Grove with respect to traffic congestion. Mr.Yellsetty said the study was conducted before that closure and did not take it into account. Regarding the survey results highlighting poor road quality and maintenance, Mr. Rozema and Mr.Yellsetty said there is a misperception about what roads are in Marana and which are in other jurisdictions. Council Member Comeford said Town employees do a great job maintaining existing roadways. Vice Mayor Post asked if the Town pays for public transportation, and Deputy Town Manager Erik Montague explained the Town does pay an annual maintenance fee. Mr.Yellsetty asked the Council what they felt was the greatest transportation needs were in Marana today.Vice Mayor Post,Council Member Ziegler,and Mayor Honea said the greatest needs involved interchange improvements.Vice Mayor Post said the Town only has two or three major shopping districts, and that residents and non-residents are concentrating into those areas as a result. Mr. Burruel said this was stressing the roads in those areas. Vice Mayor Post recommended retail be established in other areas of the Town to spread out the traffic. Mr. Rozema said one of the stressors also involved major arterial roads that run through the Town, such as Tangerine, which is utilized to bring residents from Oro Valley through Marana to get onto the interstate. Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 6 of 9 Discussion ensued related to specific interchanges and the pros and cons of which should be improved first. Mayor Honea highlighted that the financial security of the Town was dependent on people's ability to get on and off of the interstate. Mr. Yellsetty mentioned that retail concentration, employment concentration, and drawing traffic to the interstate were the three main concerns heard from the public and from stakeholders as well. Mr. Yellsetty next presented on the Town's vision, goals, and guiding principles. He asked Council Members what Marana's greatest challenges would be 20 years from now. Vice Mayor Post said the interstate would exceed its capacity by that time and that the Town would need to work with the State to add additional lanes. Mr. Yellsetty asked if additional transportation corridors would be desirable.Vice Mayor Post said that would be an expensive option. Council Member Craig recommended Silverbell Road as a possibility for another corridor. She asked if the Town needed to prepare its roads for heavy trucks, self-driving vehicles, etc., and Mr. Yellsetty said that the Town was responsible to ensure its roads were sufficient to handle commerce coming off of I-10. Mayor Honea suggested widening Twin Peaks Road to four lanes and widening Ina Road,among other examples,and a general discussion ensued regarding where to widen specific roads within the Town. Mr.Yellsetty said to not be afraid of the cost at this point, since it is 20 years out. He said improvements around I-10 was a good option, but asked if it would be wise to build parallel networks adjacent to I-10 to provide relieve for traffic congestion and to provide alternate routes in the case of an accident that would shut down the interstate. Mr. Rozema highlighted the example of installing a road connecting Avra Valley Road to Tangerine Road. [Vice Mayor Post and Council Member Kai left the meeting at this point (12:57 PM). A quorum was still present in their absence.] Mr.Yellsetty requested that the Council provide them with feedback regarding different types of roadways/alternative routes and building a network that could sustain the development the Town is anticipating. He continued on with the presentation slides. Mayor Honea commented that enhancing the I-10 interchanges would be a major help for future development in the Town, and he said it would be valuable to have schools and retail establishments where the people are rather than relying on the interstate to get to these. Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 7 of 9 Council Member Officer agreed that I-10 improvements would be necessary, but expressed concern that the entire interstate could be closed down in by one accident. He said I-11 could be a great help in that regard. Council Member Craig said her understanding was that I-11 would not be going forward and asked why the Town should plan for it? Mr.Yellsetty said the transportation plan looks at different scenarios, including if the new I-11 corridor is established. Mr. Rozema said I-11 could also have a negative impact on the revenue of the Town because I-11 travelers would make purchases outside Town limits. Mayor Honea said that,down the road,it might be good to have trains to be able to move a lot of people. Mr. Rozema agreed and commented that Town staff has discovered that many restaurants are not moving into the Town due to the lack of public transportation for their employees. Mayor Honea highlighted that other jurisdictions,such as Prescott Valley,have their own bus system (small shuttle buses), and he said the Town could look for where there is a need for public transportation and provide similar routes to move people around. Mr. Yellsetty asked to confirm with the Council if they were open to doing a scenario analysis and to look at I-10 improvements along with alternative routes and multi-modal (different types of transportation) options. There was a consensus among the Council Members regarding this. Mayor Honea complemented the presentation and said Mr.Yellsetty did an excellent job presenting. Mr. Yellsetty said the next time they came before Council, they will present potential solutions. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03, the Town Council may vote to go 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), Council may ask for discussion or consideration, or consultation with designated Town representatives, or consultation for legal advice with the Town Attorney, concerning any matter listed on this agenda for any of the reasons listed in A.R.S. §38-431.03 (A). FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Notwithstanding the Mayor's discretion regarding the items to be placed on the agenda, if three or more Council members request that an item be placed on the agenda, it must Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 8 of 9 be placed on the agenda for the second regular Town Council meeting after the date of the request, pursuant to Marana Town Code Section 2-4-2(B). Mayor Honea asked for future agenda items. Council Member Craig proposed that green construction codes be a topic on an upcoming agenda. She said there is a regional effort to start developing codes that prohibit residential grass, mandate low-water toilets and better insulation, etc., and the agenda item's purpose would be to see if the Council would like to be part of this regional endeavor. Mayor Honea said that the item would be put on the agenda. He invited Council Member Craig to coordinate with Town staff regarding putting together a presentation. Mr. Rozema suggested that this item be the subject of a study session. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Honea asked for a motion to adjourn. Council Member Comerford moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed, 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 1:22 PM. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the forgoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council Special Meeting held on September 12, 2023. I further certify that a quorum was present. David L. Udall, Town Clerk 1126& MARANA AZ ESTABLISHED 1977 Special Council Meeting Summary Minutes September 12,2023 Page 9 of 9