Mayor Hiremath called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Satish Hiremath, Mayor
Mary Snider, Vice Mayor
Bill Garner, Councilmember
Barry Gillaspie, Councilmember
Joe Hornat, Councilmember
Steve Solomon, Councilmember
Lou Waters, Councilmember
Holly Hitchcock, Ms. Poppy 2011 for the American Legion Auxiliary Post #73, stated that the Poppy was a sacred symbol of our nation's war dead. The Poppies were hand made by veterans. The money raised through Poppy sales would provide comfort items, supplies, outings for patients at the local VA hospital, clothing and supplies to homeless veterans and would also help the families of veterans who were in need.
Assistant Town Manager Greg Caton announced the upcoming town meetings.
Councilmember Solomon attended the Oro Valley Police Department awards ceremony on May 13th. He was amazed by the number of Officers who received awards. He congratulated the eight Oro Valley Officers who received life saving awards. Of the eight, two Officers received two awards since they saved two lives on separate occasions.
Vice Mayor Snider updated the public regarding the transition of Coyote Run from an Oro Valley supported service to a regional supported service. The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) had agreed to include trips to the Northwest Medical Center through the Dial-A-Ride program.
Councilmember Waters reported on the Imagining a Greater Tucson program and stated that the next phase would be to map out residents ideas for a greater Tucson which would begin May 24th at the Hilton from 6:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Mayor Hiremath reported that he and Councilmember Hornat attended the National Duathlon Championship which was held on Sunday, April 30th. There were over 1,000 participants of which 19 were Oro Valley residents. There were over 3,000 out of town visitors and the estimated economic impact for the Town of Oro Valley was $1.1 million dollars. The event had been so successful that the USA Triathlon announced that they would be bringing the event back in 2012. Mayor Hiremath thanked the Metropolitan Tucson Convention Visitors Bureau (MTCVB), Tucson Sports, Hilton El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort, Ventanna Medical Systems and town staff.
Felipe Garcia with the MTCVB thanked the Mayor and Council for the opportunity to have participated in the Duathlon and congratulated Council for working together to create such a successful event.
Town Clerk Julie Bower announced that there was new artwork on display in the Council Chambers and that it was created by artist Kay Mitman.
Police Chief Danny Sharp reported that Captain Danny Sharp Jr. and Officer Sean Benjamin of the Oro Valley Explorers submitted essays for the Sergeant Mark Cavanaugh Memorial Scholarship Award for 2011 and were chosen as the winning recipients of the scholarship. The award money of $1,650 would be utilized at an upcoming Explorer competition in Colorado.
Parks, Recreation, Cultural Resources & Library Director Ainsley Legner announced that the Town of Oro Valley had been chosen as one of the finalist for the Keg Steakhouse restaurant's Thanks a Million grant program. If Oro Valley would win, an integrated and universally accessible playground for children with special needs would be built at James D. Kriegh Park. She encouraged all residents to vote for the Town at www.thekegthanksamillion.com.
Ms. Legner also reported that the summer kick-off for the aquatics and recreational programs would take place on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at James D. Kriegh Park near the pool.
Mayor Hiremath reviewed the order of business and stated that it would stand as posted.
1. Customer Feedback Form regarding Town Hall Solar Project
2. Public Safety Providers Quarterly Reports
3. DIS Infrastructure Section grading of Limewood Drive and Camino Del Plata
4. Library Staff Recognition Letter
5. Police Department Appreciation Letter
Oro Valley resident Sue Bishop was concerned about the possibility of reduced funding for the Oro Valley Police Department. She urged Council to approve a budget that would preserve core services.
Dr. Rhee thanked Council for allowing him the opportunity to speak about trauma centers. He briefly discussed his past background which included 24 years in the U.S. Navy.
Dr. Rhee stated that there were four categories of trauma centers, 1 through 4. Level 1 trauma centers performed a certain volume of trauma and they had to have the capability to do research and teach.
Level 2 trauma centers had similar capabilities as level 1 centers but didn't have the research and teaching components. They also didn't have minimum set criteria for the volume of patients.
Level 1 and level 2 trauma centers had trauma surgeons on call or in the hospital waiting for patients and they also had specialty services available such as orthopedic surgeons, neuro surgeons, hand surgeons, vascular surgeons and thoracic surgeons etc.
He also stated that any fairly large hospital could be verified as a level 3 trauma center as long as general surgeons were available to come to a call and were available during a certain time period. All other emergency room facilities could be classified as level 4 trauma centers.
Dr. Rhee reported that Dr. Donald Green, an experienced trauma surgeon, would be working as a trauma director at Kino or UPH hospital located in downtown Tucson. This hospital would be opening soon as a level 3 trauma center.
A task force had been assembled to look at the City of Tucson and the surrounding areas to see where the growth was and where ideal locations for trauma centers would be.
Dr. Rhee stated that there were many trauma centers in cities around the country that surpassed his trauma center in rehabilitation and grant funding for research etc. He said that there were many more aspects to trauma centers than just taking care of patients. One of his primary goals was to become both nationally and internationally renowned for his trauma center's research capability. Another goal of his was to open a regionalized burn center in the next year or two.
Mayor Hiremath thanked Dr. Rhee and his team for all of their fine work on January 8th.
Mayor Hiremath presented the Distinguished Budget Award to Budget and Management Analyst Wendi Gomez and Finance Analyst Art Cuaron.
Councilmember Hornat requested that items (H) and (I) be removed from the Consent Agenda to be discussed and voted on separately.
Councilmember Garner requested that items (A), (B), and (G) be removed from the Consent Agenda to be discussed and voted on separately.
Vice Mayor Snider requested that item (F) be removed from the Consent Agenda to be discussed and voted on separately.
C. Court Report - April, 2011
D. Fiscal Year 2010/11 Financial Update Through March 2011
E. Resolution No. (R)11-28 Authorizing and Approving a Line Extension Agreement for Construction of Protected Water Facilities Under Private Contract Between the Town of Oro Valley and Copper Canyon Development, LLC
Consent Agenda items (C), (D), and (E) were approved, 7-0.
Councilmember Garner requested a breakdown that detailed how the numbers were derived.
Oro Valley resident John Musolf felt that the report didn’t seem to coincide with a lot of the performance measures and that the report could have been cut down considerably.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Garner and seconded by Vice Mayor Snider to approve item (A).
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Councilmember Garner presented a PowerPoint presentation regarding public safety response times for level 1 and level 2 calls from FY 04-05 to present. He was concerned with the Police Department not meeting their response time goals for responding to level 1 calls within five minutes or less, 90% of the time and responding to level 2 calls within eight minutes or less, 90% of the time.
Councilmember Garner felt that Council needed to find out what the issues were with meeting response times so that there could be a more consistent response time pattern of meeting the 90% performance measure.
Chief Sharp stated that the Police Department strived for reaching their performance measure goal of responding to priority 1, 2, 3 & 4 calls within the specified timeframes 90% of the time. The response times were tracked so that it would assist with how the PD would deploy their resources.
Councilmember Waters asked if a cluster of calls could skew the statistics.
Chief Sharp stated that there were a number of reasons why the statistics could get skewed. For example, if a priority 1 call would occur during rush hour and motor officers were not close by, the response time could take longer than normal due to traffic congestion. Construction zones could also negatively impact response times.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Waters and seconded by Vice Mayor Snider to approve item (B).
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Vice Mayor Snider said that in October 2010, the town held the first of two economic summits with the Council and business community. Council listened to current business issues and how the town could help them. The second summit took place in January 2011 and Council engaged the business community in helping to form the town's economic development strategy to help move the community forward. She felt that both summits were very successful and she was looking forward to working with the business community in the future.
MOTION: A motion was made by Vice Mayor Snider and seconded by Councilmember Hornat to approve item (F).
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Councilmember Garner requested that the report be broken down further and that the reports were received on a quarterly basis.
Oro Valley resident John Musolf stated that the report was actually a six month report, not a quarterly report. He would like to see quarterly reports because they were easier to read.
Councilmember Hornat requested standardized reports so that they would be easier to follow.
Councilmember Gillaspie requested an update regarding the Ventanna expansion project.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Garner and seconded by Councilmember Gillaspie to approve item (G).
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Councilmember Hornat disliked the idea of rolling items into the General Fund, thus loosing visibility. He requested a monthly detailed breakdown of the fund balances which would be placed on the consent agenda.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Hornat and seconded by Vice Mayor Snider to approve item (H).
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Councilmember Hornat asked for clarification regarding what the cost would be to charge a vehicle.
Construction and Sustainability Manager Bayer Vella said that a two hour charge would cost approximately $1. The charging stations would be provided at no cost to the town and the cost of all of the electricity used would be reimbursed to the town. The contract would be for a one year period.
Councilmember Garner asked what the maintenance requirements would be once the town takes ownership and how long would they last for.
Mr. Vella said that Ecotality would be responsible for all maintenance for the first year. After the first year, the town would have the option to take over the charging stations or the town could enter into a similar service agreement with Ecotality to provide the maintenance. Data would be captured and stored by the charging devices and that information would be brought back before Council at a later date.
Councilmember Gillaspie asked if the Ecotality charging stations could charge anything else other than the Nissan Leaf.
Mr. Vella said that the connector would work with other vehicles in the future.
MOTION: A motion was made by Vice Mayor Snider and seconded by Councilmember Waters to approve item (I).
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Councilmember Hornat felt that this item wasn’t given the proper consideration that it should have received. He also felt that due consideration wasn’t given to how the rezoning would affect the Tangerine corridor and Council’s vision of what they would like the Tangerine corridor to become.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Gillaspie and seconded by Councilmember Hornat to reconsider the May 4, 2011 approval of Ordinance No. (O)11-12 rezoning request by St. Mark Church for the 17 acre property located at 2727 W. Tangerine Road from R-144 to private school district with the condition that it would be returned to Council on June 15, 2011.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Town Clerk Julie Bower gave an overview of item number two.
Mayor Hiremath opened the public hearing.
No comments were received.
Mayor Hiremath closed the public hearing.
MOTION: A motion was made by Vice Mayor Snider and seconded by Councilmember Solomon to approve the issuance of a series 12 liquor license to the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control for Michael Bonk for J. Marinara's located at 8195 N. Oracle Road Suite #105.
MOTION approved, 7-0.
Finance Director Stacey Lemos gave an overview of the tentative budget for fiscal year 2011/12.
Ms. Lemos stated that the tentative budget as presented was balanced at $94,219,647 and was $22 million dollars or 19% less than the current year adopted budget of $116.2 million dollars.
Ms. Lemos discussed the various fund allocations for fiscal year 2011/12. Staff had recommended two additional increases totaling $155,000. The first increase totaling $130,000 represented the carry forward of unspent funds from the current fiscal year. The second increase of $25,000 was added to the budget to allow the town to receive the possible grant funds from the Keg Steakhouse for park improvements.
Ms. Lemos outlined additional changes from the Manager's recommended budget which consisted of:
Highway Fund
-Increased pavement preservation budget from $800,000 to $1.2M
-Eliminated transfer in from Bed Tax Fund reserves of $385,000
Bed Tax Fund
-Show entire bed tax revenues of $899,626 with transfer out to General Fund of $675,000
-Consolidate Capital Asset Repl. Fund (CARF) and Steam Pump Ranch Funds into General Fund
Ms. Lemos summarized the General Fund. The town expected to begin the fiscal year with an anticipated fund balance carry forward of $9.6M. Revenues had been budgeted at $25.7M and expenditures had been budgeted at $25.9M. $200,000 of reserve funds were expected to be used.
Ms. Lemos discussed the General Fund highlights and noted that 80% of revenues came from local sales tax and state shared revenues.
The town was expected to begin the new fiscal year with a beginning Highway Fund balance of $3.4M. Revenues were expected to be $3.3M and expenditures were expected to be $4.5M. $1.2M in Highway Fund reserves would be used to offset the revenues from the expenditures.
The Bed Tax Fund was expected to have a beginning fund balance of $863,000. Revenues were expected to be $901,000 and expenditures were expected to be $911,000. Approximately $10,000 in reserves was expected to be used.
Ms. Lemos said that the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) totaled $15.5M. The largest percentage of CIP funds would be used for roadway infrastructure expansion projects of almost $8.0M which were primarily funded through state funds.
Mayor Hiremath opened the public hearing.
Oro Valley resident John Musolf was concerned with the possible impacts that a 2% utility tax increase would have on the Amphitheater School District.
Oro Valley resident Payton Davies would like to see a fiscally conservative Council. She urged the Council to rescind the utility tax increase.
Oro Valley resident Lynne St. Angelo felt that the increase in the utility tax was fiscally irresponsible and that expenses should have been cut instead of raising taxes in order to have balanced the budget.
Oro Valley resident Edward Seifried urged Council to seek additional revenue sources. Once the economy had rebounded and begun to grow again, he wanted to see the majority of the cash flow put into reserves to help smooth out the down turns.
Oro Valley resident Bill Adler would like to see service levels maintained at current levels even if it would mean raising taxes. He felt that the proposed tentative budget had not adequately addressed the pressures that would continue on both revenues and expenditures.
Mayor Hiremath closed the public hearing.
Councilmember Solomon felt that the current proposed tentative budget was a stop gap measure. Additional revenue sources would need to be created because any additional cuts would result in a lower quality of life for town residents.
Councilmember Hornat would have liked to seen additional cuts relating to tier three or non-essential items. He was concerned with the Amphitheater School District budget too. $675,000 had been taken out of the Bed Tax fund to make up shortfalls and he felt that it was the right thing to do.
Councilmember Garner gave a presentation regarding budget trends and personnel changes from fiscal year 05/06 through fiscal year 11/12. He felt that strategic changes needed to be made to how the town operated. He felt that the FY 2011/2012 budget was not balanced.
Councilmember Garner performed an account analysis and asked for clarification regarding various expenses. He felt that additional cost savings could be realized if the information were analyzed more closely.
Mayor Hiremath felt that the proposed budget was merely a stop-gap budget. The town would need to address expenses, policies, efficiencies and fiscal resources. Once stable revenue sources were identified, offsets could then be created to further stabilize the budget.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Solomon and seconded by Councilmember Waters to adopt Resolution No. (R)11-35 adopting the tentative budget for FY 2011/2012 and setting the local alternative expenditure limitation for FY 2011/12 at $94,219,647.
Councilmember Gillaspie thanked Ms. Lemos and staff for all of their hard work in putting the budget together. He disagreed with how Council had approached the budget. He felt that the housing slump would continue for several years and that improvements wouldn’t be realized for some time. Support would have to be earned from the taxpayers. He felt that the current expenditure pattern, particularly for public safety, would be unsustainable. The size of government and efficiency improvements would also need to be addressed.
Councilmember Hornat said that the budget was a dynamic document and adjustments could be made in the future.
MOTION carried, 5-2 with Councilmembers Garner and Gillaspie opposed.
Mayor Hiremath recessed the meeting at 8:10 p.m.
Mayor Hiremath reconvened the meeting at 8:20 p.m.
4. *DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING ORO VALLEY ZONING CODE REVISED, CHAPTER 28, SIGNS, PERTAINING TO THE USE AND REGULATION OF A-FRAME SIGNS (THIS ITEM HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE AGENDA ON MAY 11, 2011)
5. AMENDMENT TO ZONING CODE AND TOWN CODE RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN REVIEW BOARD (CDRB) AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN REVIEW PROCESS
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Gillaspie and seconded by Councilmember Waters to adopt Resolution No. (R)11-33 declaring as a public record portions of the Oro Valley Zoning Code Revised, Chapters 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 31, and the Oro Valley Town Code, Chapter 3, attached hereto as exhibit "A" and filed with the Town Clerk
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Planning Manager David Williams requested that item 5e be continued to the June 1st meeting.
MOTION: A motion was made by Vice Mayor Snider and seconded by Councilmember Garner to continue item 5e to the June 1st meeting.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Planning Manager David Williams thanked Development and Infrastructure Services Director Suzanne Smith, Permitting Division Manager Paul Keesler, Senior Planner Matt Michels, Principal Planner Chad Daines, Councilmember Gillaspie, Councilmember Solomon, Councilmember Waters and all of the community volunteers for their help with developing the CDRB.
Mr. Williams said that the proposed CDRB was part of the overall effort to streamline and improve efficiencies of development review while maintaining the same quality of development.
The new Conceptual Design Review Board would:
-Consolidate design review functions
-Streamline the development process
-Enhance the effectiveness of resident's input
-Increase "getting to shovel ready" projects
Mr. Williams compared the current development review process to the proposed CDRB process.
Councilmember Garner asked about the appeal process.
Mr. Williams clarified that development design decisions would be heard by the Council.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended unanimous approval as shown in Exhibit "A".
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Solomon and seconded by Councilmember Gillaspie to adopt Ordinance (O)11-15 with the following conditions: 1) Model home conceptual designs would be approved by the CDRB. 2) Council may approve extensions of two years versus one year. 3) Appeals may be made to Council of both staff and/or CDRB decisions. 4) Exclude the amendments to Chapter 3 of the Town Code which would be continued to the June 1st meeting.
Councilmember Waters wanted the opportunity to add additional criteria for the evaluation of public art.
Councilmember Gillaspie proposed a friendly amendment clarifying that Council may grant extensions up to two years. Councilmember Solomon agreed to the amendment.
Mayor Hiremath opened the public hearing.
No comments were received.
Mayor Hiremath closed the public hearing.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Planning Manager David Williams gave an overview of the proposed rules and procedures for the Conceptual Design Review Board.
MOTION: A motion was made by Vice Mayor Snider and seconded by Councilmember Garner to continue Resolution No. (R)11-32 to a future meeting.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Planning Manager David Williams said that names had been changed to reflect the new processes and that fees had stayed the same.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Waters and seconded by Vice Mayor Snider to adopt Resolution No. (R)11-34 authorizing and approving a renamed development services fee schedule to reflect the new Conceptual Design Review Board and processes.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
e. APPOINTMENT OF SEVEN MEMBERS TO THE ORO VALLEY CONCEPTUAL DESIGN REVIEW BOARD (CDRB) WITH STAGGERED TERMS EFFECTIVE THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2012 AND DECEMBER 31, 2013
This item was continued to the June 1st meeting.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Gillaspie and seconded by Councilmember Hornat to approve amending the Town Council liaison assignments by appointing Councilmember Solomon as primary liaison and Councilmember Waters as the alternate liaison to the Conceptual Development Review Board (CDRB) and removing the Finance and Bond Committee from the Council liaison assignments.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Councilmember Garner requested a future study session item in regards to Police Department response criteria and statistic reports that would include additional alternatives to improve performance, seconded by Councilmember Hornat.
No comments were received.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Hornat and seconded by Councilmember Waters to adjourn the meeting at 8:53 p.m.
MOTION carried, 7-0.