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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-2024 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 10, 2024, at or after 8:30 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 SUMMARY MINUTES [Each item on the agenda was subject to presentation, discussion, and possible direction from Council. All agendized times in the left column are approximates only. Actual times are included in the body of the minutes.] 8:30AM Breakfast 9:00AM Call to Order/Roll Call Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM and directed the Town Clerk to call the roll. All Council Members were present, constituting a quorum. Staff present included Town Manager Terry Rozema, Deputy Town Manager Erik Montague, Assistant Town Manager Andrea De La Cruz,Town Attorney Jane Fairall,Town Clerk/Assistant Town Attorney David Udall, and Deputy Town Clerk Debbie Thompson. Also present was Mr. Patrick Cavanaugh. Mayor Honea led the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence. Page 1 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 Approval of Agenda Vice Mayor Post moved to approve the agenda as presented. Council Member Officer seconded the motion. Motion passed, 7-0. Mr. Rozema welcomed everyone to the retreat and highlighted the items on the agenda. 9:00AM Heritage Park: Discussion regarding possible development strategy for Heritage Park 9:45AM Presentation by: Terry Rozema [Actual start time was 9:02 AM.] Mr. Rozema presented on this item. He said the Town has struggled to attract restaurants and said Town staff is trying to think of creative ways to attract them. He proposed utilizing an area in the Marana Heritage River Park as a venue for eating and recreation opportunities utilizing shipping containers or other semi-permanent structures. A video was shown highlighting the Portal at Bellingham and its amenities, which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn9YrO8WSns. Part of another video was shown highlighting a municipal pump track (bicycle park) in Menifee, California, which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDY2xT8wIKI. Mr. Rozema explained the Parks Master Plan already includes a pump track and said Oro Valley recently built one. Mr. Rozema said part of the goal of this effort would be to attract restaurants to the Gladden Farms and North Marana area. He said such a venue would give restaurants a start without the expense of a brick-and- mortar building. He said the Town would receive rents for leased land. He also highlighted that the Shared Use Path, which is popular with younger people,would lead right into the proposed pump track and other amenities. A copy of the presentation slides is on file with the Town Clerk's Office. Please see the slides for relevant maps and images. Clarifying questions were asked and answered during the presentation. General discussion ensued as follows: Page 2 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 • Council Member Ziegler asked if the Town did a restaurant tour in North Marana. Mr. Rozema said it was planned, but almost no one signed up. As a result, it had been postponed. • Council Member Kai asked if there would be more liability to the Town if it established a pump track. Mr. Rozema said it would not be much different than the Town-owned skate park or splash pads, and Ms. Fairall said that as long as the pump track was set up correctly, people would use it at their own risk. • Council Member Craig asked if private businesses would benefit from all of the profit generated by establishing such an area. Mr. Rozema said the Town would lease property to vendors on a per- square-foot basis and that the businesses would profit off of what they sold. • Vice Mayor Post said he liked the idea and recommended that the Town purchase the property to the southeast of the park. Mr. Rozema said that was a good idea,but said that before approaching the property owner and doing further research, he wanted to propose this concept to the Council for feedback. • Vice Mayor Post said it would be a good idea to start small and test the idea by facilitating food trucks at the park and to expand if it becomes popular. Mr. Rozema said he has had preliminary discussions with Town staff regarding having food truck evenings at the Marana Heritage River Park to test the idea. Vice Mayor Post said the idea should be tested with planned events there. He also recommended that shade and electricity hook-ups be established to support the food trucks. Council Member Kai agreed. Mayor Honea recommended tables also be located at the food truck sites, and Council Member Comerford recommended the food trucks be present for youth and sports programs. Vice Mayor Post asked if there would be value in providing locations and amenities for food trucks to park in other Town parks. Mr.Rozema said that was a great idea. Mr. Cavanaugh commented that he liked Vice Mayor Post's idea. • Vice Mayor Post asked about the timeline required for the Town to install a pump track. Mr. Rozema said there would need to be a full Page 3 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 bid process and design, so it would probably be a couple years out. Vice Mayor Post said pump tracks are popular,and that it would be a good idea for the Town to install one. Council Member Craig agreed. There was a consensus among the Council for staff to proceed in looking into this proposal. 9:45AM Community Facilities Districts (CFDs): Overview and purpose of CFDs; discussion regarding managing future requests, and possible revisions to 11:00AM the Town's CFD policy Presentation by: Erik Montague [Actual start time was 9:32 AM.] Mr. Montague presented on this item. A copy of the presentation slides is on file with the Town Clerk's Office. Mr. Montague provided a brief overview of CFDs, the Town's CFD policy, targeted tax rates, and invited discussion regarding possible changes to the Town's CFD policy. For more information, including a summary of what a community facilities district (CFD) is and why they are formed, a list of questions for future discussion, a list of community facilities districts (CFDs) the Town has (three active, four proposed), a summary of the Town's experience with CFDs, maps of the relevant areas, and an overview of the Town's current CFD policy (including the2019 amendments differentiating between routine and extraordinary infrastructure),please see the presentation slides and Marana Resolution No. 2021-155. Clarifying questions were asked and answered during the presentation. General discussion ensued as follows: • Council Member Craig said she did not like the option of raising the CFD tax rate on homeowners if something went wrong. Mr. Montague explained the Town's CFD policy is designed to protect homeowners and that several layers of protection are in place to guard against that, including standby contribution agreements with developers and letters of credit. Council Member Craig asked what would happen if a developer declared bankruptcy or walked. Mr. Montague and Ms. Fairall said that is one of the risks of CFDs, and that if the developer walked, state law would require the rates to be raised to cover the debt obligations. Page 4 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 • Vice Mayor Post said he was in favor of keeping the target tax rate at $2.50. He said this would allow room to increase the tax rate percentage without causing additional harm to homeowners in the event a developer walked. • Council Member Ziegler said the Town currently does not have a bad example of a CFD and said Gladden Farms is a model CFD, but said the Town needs to look more in depth at how to educate potential homebuyers about CFDs so they are more informed when purchasing a home. Council Member Kai agreed that educating homeowners about CFDs is important.Council Member Comerford said realtors should inform prospective homebuyers of CFDs, but many do not, and many buyers don't read the lengthy homebuyer documents. Council Member Ziegler said the problem is particularly present when a home is resold to another homeowner. Vice Mayor Post said that the biggest concern is when CFD money isn't pulled for several years and already established homeowners are then suddenly charged under the CFD. Mr. Montague said the most common questions received from the public regarding CFDs relate to what a CFD is and what they get for it. He said the Town is doing what it can to get the word out. • Council Member Kai expressed surprise that the Mandarina development all of the sudden needed a CFD. Council Member Ziegler thought Mandarina already have a CFD,and Ms.Fairall said the CFD was contemplated in the 2020 Mandarina Development Agreement. Mr. Montague said the Mandarina CFD has been in the works for the prior three years. Council Member Ziegler commented that no one wanted to develop on the east side of Interstate 10 because of the huge infrastructure costs until Mandarina came in and was willing to build the infrastructure in exchange for a CFD. • Vice Mayor Post said he would vote for a CFD that related to infrastructure benefiting the impacted community - such as the dog parks in Gladden Farms. • Council Member Craig said the discussions over the last several years involved how the Town is growing so fast and that it is difficult to keep up with infrastructure needs. She said it seemed to her that Page 5 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 CFDs encouraged rapid growth and asked if the Town wanted to keep pursuing them. Mr. Montague said that one option would be to encourage infill development rather than leapfrogging across different areas of the Town. Discussion ensued related to the following discussion points: 1. What should staff consider when reviewing applications for enhanced levels of public infrastructure? (Please also see presentation slide 10 for a summary of the Town's CFD policy dealing with routine versus extraordinary infrastructure.) o Vice Mayor Post said any tax rate proposed above $2.50 should come before the Council immediately. He said if a developer wants an extraordinary infrastructure tax rate, they will need to come to Council in advance. Council Member Ziegler said she does not want developers to come before the Council that often. Vice Mayor Post said he wasn't sure how to get around that. Mr. Rozema said part of the problem in the past was that staff made assumptions on what would be considered extraordinary and he said he was hoping for better clarity on what the Council would consider as extraordinary. 2. Should we clarify what qualifies as extraordinary or should we abandon the concept entirely? (Please also see presentation slide 12 for calculation comparisons.) o Vice Mayor Post suggested the Town needs to first know what the developer can afford. o Mayor Honea said that the installation of drainage, wastewater, water, and roads is all part of the cost of doing business and should be considered a general expense. He said that a regional park or contributions to build traffic interchanges might be extraordinary. Council Member Comerford agreed and asked how many times developers needed to be paid back. She said anything required for them to put housing on the land is their responsibility. Mr. Montague asked whether running a seven-mile sewer line would constitute extraordinary infrastructure, as was the case Page 6 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 in the Gladden Farms CFD. Vice Mayor Post said that could potentially be considered extraordinary, but that it was hard to say. Mr. Montague said part of the issue was that the "similar regional public infrastructure" language in the Town's CFD policy, as amended, was a little fuzzy and made it unclear when determining whether such infrastructure was extraordinary. o Mr. Montague asked if the Council would ever approve a tax rate higher than the target tax rate. Mayor Honea said that determination would need to be made on a case-by-case basis so the Council could determine if something was extraordinary. Mr. Montague showed presentation slide 12 and discussed the calculations. Vice Mayor Post asked if it was a moot point to have a higher tax rate after seeing the calculations. He asked if the Town should just take away the extraordinary policy. 3. Should we formally set a target tax rate for bonds? Will we ever entertain a tax rate higher than the target? Is Council okay with staff bringing forward all CFD applications that conform to the CFD policy? o Council Member Kai said he was fine with the$2.50 rate,but thinks the Town should have the ability to raise it, if needed. Mayor Honea said he things the policy is fine as-is,but that it was the interpretation of extraordinary infrastructure that was the issue. Vice Mayor Post agreed the policy was not broken.He recommended Town staff come before the Council early so the Council can give input. Council Member Ziegler said she did not want to make the process more complicated with multiple meetings. Vice Mayor Post said there are only four more proposed CFDs, and that it would not be a burden to talk about them more. Mr. Montague and Ms. Fairall said the Town has a similar process for annexations, where the proposal is initially brought before the Council to see if the Council is interested. o Council Member Craig recommended removing the "fuzzy language" as, discussed above, from the policy. Page 7 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 Mr. Rozema summarized the Council's feedback as follows: • The Council is comfortable going above the standard$2.50 rate when warranted. • The Council would like CFD proposals at a higher rate than$2.50 to come before Council early to get Council input and feedback. There was a consensus among the Council Members. [A break was taken from 10:59 AM until 11:05 AM.] 11:00AM Moore Road Interchange: Discussion regarding planning for Moore Road Interchange and possible direction on next steps 12:00PM Presentation by: Terry Rozema [Actual start time was 11:05 AM.] Mr. Rozema presented on this item. A copy of the presentation slides is on file with the Town Clerk's Office. For a map of the area involved, please see the presentation slides. Clarifying questions were asked and answered during the presentation. Mr. Rozema explained the priority and rough timelines for the Tangerine and Marana Road interchange improvements. He proposed moving the Moore Road interchange project up in priority and to begin the due diligence process by paying for a design concept review (DCR). He said the North Marana area is the growth area for the foreseeable future, and at some point, Tangerine interchange will be shut down for about two years for a grade-separated interchange installation. Marana Road will have the same treatment. If Moore Road is a grade-separated interchange before those project start,there will be more options for traffic to get on and off the Interstate in North Marana when the other interchanges are closed for construction. Moore Road can also be built now without closing an interchange down. General discussion ensued as follows: • Council Member Ziegler agreed this was needed and said she saw the logic in it. She asked who would pay for it. Mr. Rozema said the Town would be spending a few million on a DCR if the Council Page 8 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 provided direction to do so. The DCR will then help the Town know how much it will be required to pay for the whole interchange project and how much the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) would have to pay. • Vice Mayor Post was in favor of the idea. He said the Town could put this into its impact fee schedule once approved by the Council. • Council Member Ziegler expressed concern about public perception if residents see Moore Road being constructed while the Cortaro interchange is struggling. Vice Mayor Post commented that Moore Road involves safety issues at the Tangerine and Marana interchanges while the Cortaro interchange involves wait time concerns. Mayor Honea said that the Cortaro interchange and Tangerine interchange projects would be locked in if the RTA Next plan passes. There was a consensus among the Council to proceed as indicated by Mr. Rozema. 12:00PM Regional Transportation Authority (RTA): Update on RTA Next -1:00PM Presentation by: Terry Rozema Note: Lunch will be provided during this hour [Actual start time was 11:24 PM.] Mr. Rozema presented on this item. He provided some background and history related to his and the Mayor's attendance at RTA Board meetings. He said that originally, many projects were identified for RTA Next, and Marana originally had 15 proposed projects. He said approximately 50% of the projects were then cut due to the funding available through RTA Next, and that projects began being prioritized as a result. He said the Cortaro and Tangerine grade-separated interchanges were two of Marana's projects and that the widening of Ina Road east of Interstate 10 was a third. Mr. Rozema explained that several iterations of the RTA Next plan were put forward, including plans in which a third of the money would go to public transit. Under the proposed plan, the City of Tucson would receive any excess revenues generated under RTA Next. The parties are currently at an impasse as a result, but recently had the most productive meeting the Page 9 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 group has had in the last two years. Clarifying questions were asked and answered during the presentation. General discussion ensued as follows: • Council Member Ziegler said the City receiving all excess revenue was a non-starter. Mr. Rozema said that condition was not acceptable to the Town or other jurisdictions involved, and he said voices of reason were now needed. He said they are hoping to put something before the residents of the community to receive input from them regarding transit plans. Council Member Ziegler asked who would take the lead in public outreach. Mr. Rozema said the RTA would primarily, but said the Town could look into doing its own. Council Member Ziegler stressed the Town needed to do its own outreach due to the importance of this endeavor.She said it was really unfortunate the whole thing was being held up by one jurisdiction. • Mayor Honea said the primary issue was that the City of Tucson is coming from a place of ideology rather than reality. He said the City is anti-growth and anti-car, and that it wants to put in a lot of public transit. He said the statistics show very few people use transit. Council Member Ziegler expressed dismay that the City would take a third of the RTA budget for buses when not many people are using buses. She said their position was not based in fact. • Vice Mayor Post asked if the Town could go out on its own. Mr. Rozema said the Town could, but that it would lose out on the money provided by RTA Next. He said there are benefits to participating regionally. He also said the jurisdiction that would lose out the most is Pima County because it is not able to pass a half-cent sales tax given the composition of their Board. He said Pima County has significant projects that would be part of RTA Next, including widening Thornydale, Orange Grove, and Silverbell Roads. • Mayor Honea explained the RTA Board is made up of regional jurisdictions and ADOT. He said the City of Tucson has a lot of sway over several of the local jurisdictions, and that the County may be the deciding vote on which direction RTA Next goes. Mr. Rozema thinks there is still hope it will pass because, if push came to shove and one of the jurisdictions got what they wanted at the expense of Page 10 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 the others,the other jurisdictions will either walk away from the deal or campaign against it when it goes before the voters. He said it could get ugly, and said there is a benefit to getting everyone to the table and having the conversations that need to be had. • Mayor Honea said if RTA Next fails,the Town will need to seriously consider how it will proceed with the Cortaro and Moore interchange projects. He said if RTA Next does go through, the Cortaro and Tangerine interchange projects would be locked in. • Mr. Cavanaugh commented that the Town should stick with RTA Next, even if it is a bad deal, in order to get the money it needs for its projects. Mayor Honea said he can't support the RTA if it does not benefit the community. [A lunch break was taken from 12:02 PM until 12:37 PM.] 1:00PM - Funding for Growth: Discussion regarding options for funding for growth 2:00PM and future approaches to impact fees Presentation by: Erik Montague [Actual start time was 12:37 PM.] Mr. Montague presented on this item. He provided an overview of the purpose of development impact fees (DIFs), the impact fee statute, challenges with impact fees, and options going forward. A copy of the presentation slides is on file with the Town Clerk's Office. For more information, including a summary of the purpose of impact fees and statutory language, a list of impact fee challenges, considerations to take into account when considering abandoning impact fees, a summary to the alternatives to impact fees, and a table comparing the options, please see the presentation slides. Clarifying questions were asked and answered during the presentation. General discussion ensued as follows: • Vice Mayor Post expressed concern that the Town would again be sued as it continues to attempt to fund its infrastructure,particularly when it comes to future wastewater facility expansion. He suggested, in light of the current Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA) lawsuit, that the Town look at determining Page 11 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 what should be funded by impact fees and what could be funded through other mechanisms, such as the utility capacity fee outlined in A.R.S. §§ 9-511 & 9-511.01. Mr. Montague explained the capacity fees could not be utilized for acquisition purposes. Vice Mayor Post said one concern with the capacity fees was that the first business into a building would need to pay the entire capacity fee instead of being adjusted when a new use comes in, as is the case with impact fees. He said he would not like the Town's business-friendly atmosphere to be affected. Mr. Montague said staff would need to do more research into this. Council Member Craig asked if there was more of a litigation threat with capacity fees, since water and wastewater infrastructure was more expensive. Ms. Fairall explained that the Supreme Court denied cert on the Mountainside v. Flagstaff case, which is a good sign, but that it didn't mean the issue could not be raised again. Vice Mayor Post asked if there was more safety in impact fees since we know the rules of the game. Ms.Fairall said there was not more safety in impact fees. • Vice Mayor Post and Mayor Honea recommended doing away with impact fees altogether and raising the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) from 4% to 5%. Mayor Honea said it would involve the same cost to a homeowner but would have less restrictions compared to the impact fee process. Ms.Fairall said she believed there were some limitations on how much construction sales tax could be raised. Mr. Montague said staff would look into it and explore this idea. Mayor Honea said that if it was going to be a continual fight with the SAHBA regarding impact fees, that the Town should simplify its approach and raise the tax. • Council Member Craig commented that an even simpler approach would be to require developers to install infrastructure at their own expense. Council Member Comerford agreed and requested that abandoning impact fees be put on the agenda. Council Member Ziegler and Council Member Craig agreed. • Vice Mayor Post asked why the Town doesn't require more private streets so the Town is not on the hook for the expense of maintaining them. Discussion ensued between Council and Town staff regarding homeowners' associations likely being required to pay for maintenance as a result and potentially not having sufficient resources for such maintenance. Page 12 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 • Vice Mayor Post asked if there was a way for the Town to utilize development agreements to require more developer contributions toward Town infrastructure. Mr. Montague said staff would need to look into that. Ms. Fairall explained that if the infrastructure was planned into the Town's infrastructure improvements program,then the developer would be entitled to reimbursement. • Vice Mayor Post asked how Chandler and Queen Creek pay for infrastructure needs. Mr. Montague said the municipalities have primary and secondary property taxes, which the Town does not have. He said the property tax is a game-changer and allows them to fund infrastructure projects and have more flexibility. 2:00PM - 2025 Spring Council Retreat: Identification and prioritization of topics for 4:00PM next year's Council Retreat scheduled for February 19 to February 21, 2025 Presentation by: Terry Rozema [Actual start time was 1:37 PM.] Mr. Rozema invited Council Members to provide input on topics for next year's Council retreat. There was a consensus that the following topics should be included on the 2025 Spring Council Retreat agenda: • Parks and Recreation update, including discussions involving Ora Mae Harn District Park and possibly acquiring Marana Unified School District property • Acquiring property from the Marana Health Center in furtherance of downtown development • Water and Wastewater update • Economic Development update • Roads discussion • Airport update, including an update on the status of the air traffic control tower project Page 13 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024 • Consideration of adding a nurse practitioner position for Town staff, similar to what is being done at the Northwest Fire District o Before deciding on whether this should be added to the next retreat agenda, discussion ensued regarding the value of having a nurse practitioner on staff. Two Council Members (Vice Mayor Post and Council Member Ziegler) were opposed to the idea and two in favor of it(Mayor Honea,who proposed this item, and Council Member Comerford). Mr. Rozema asked if staff should bring the item before the Council at the retreat with more information. Council Member Kai requested the item be brought back with a cost- benefit analysis. Mayor Honea agreed. Council Member Officer suggested Town employees also be consulted first, and explained a prior employer instituted something like this and stopped using it because it didn't work. • Consideration of affordable housing options, including an option related to Habitat for Humanity proposed by Mayor Honea Vice Mayor Post commented that the retreat should be in the same format as last year's, which he thought went very well. Adjournment Mayor Honea asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Vice Mayor Post and Council Member Kai moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed, 7-0. Meeting adjourned at 2:22 PM. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the special Town Council meeting/retreat held on September 10, 2024. I further certify that a quorum was resent. David L. Udall, Town Clerk A06(tik MARANA A2 ESTAdttS9Fn a' Page 14 of 14 Special Council Meeting/Retreat Summary Minutes September 10,2024