WORK SESSION AGENDA
ATTENTION IN-PERSON AUDIENCES AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE The meetings will continue to be live streamed on the city's website (https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/1461/Streaming-City-Council-Meetings) PUBLIC COMMENT PROTOCOL The process for submitting a public comment has changed and public comments will no longer be read by staff during the Council Meetings. All public comments will be taken either telephonically or accepted as a written comment. Public comments may be submitted to publiccomment@flagstaffaz.gov If you wish to address the City Council with a public comment by phone you must submit the following information: First and Last Name Phone Number Agenda Item number you wish to speak on If any of this information is missing, you will not be called. We will attempt to call you only one time. We are unable to provide a time when you may be called. All comments submitted otherwise will be considered written comments and will be documented into the record as such. If you wish to email Mayor and Council directly you may do so at council@flagstaffaz.gov. AGENDA |
1. | Call to Order
NOTICE OF OPTION TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of the City Council and to the general public that, at this work session, the City Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, for legal advice and discussion with the City’s attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda, pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3).
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2. | Pledge of Allegiance and Mission Statement MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the City of Flagstaff is to protect and enhance the quality of life for all.
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3. | ROLL CALL
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4. | Public Participation Public Participation enables the public to address the council about items that are not on the prepared agenda. Public Participation appears on the agenda twice, at the beginning and at the end of the work session. You may speak at one or the other, but not both. Anyone wishing to comment at the meeting is asked to fill out a speaker card and submit it to the recording clerk. When the item comes up on the agenda, your name will be called. You may address the Council up to three times throughout the meeting, including comments made during Public Participation. Please limit your remarks to three minutes per item to allow everyone to have an opportunity to speak. At the discretion of the Chair, ten or more persons present at the meeting and wishing to speak may appoint a representative who may have no more than fifteen minutes to speak. |
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5. | Review of Draft Agenda for the November 17, 2020 City Council Meeting
Citizens wishing to speak on agenda items not specifically called out by the City Council may submit a speaker card for their items of interest to the recording clerk.
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6. | PBB Final Priorities and Objectives | ||||||||
7. | Employee Survey Results | ||||||||
8. | Housing Presentation to City Council on the impacts of COVID-19 on Flagstaff's most vulnerable community members | ||||||||
9. | Presentation and Recommendations: regarding additional CDBG-CV (Community Development Block Grant funding for prevention, preparation and response to Coronavirus) funds provided to the City of Flagstaff by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act. | ||||||||
10. | Discuss strategies that would recognize the true cost of carbon associated with transportation in Flagstaff and looking at options to offset that true cost in some fashion. | ||||||||
11. | Discussion regarding the City's Bed, Board, and Beverage (BBB) appropriation. | ||||||||
12. | Public Participation | ||||||||
13. | Informational Items To/From Mayor, Council, and City Manager; future agenda item requests |
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14. | Adjournment | ||||||||
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6.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||||
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TITLE | |||||
PBB Final Priorities and Objectives | |||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | |||||
Give feedback on and approve edits to the PBB budget objectives in order to incorporate public input received through the PBB Community Input Survey. | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
In May of 2019, the City of Flagstaff embarked on a journey to implement Priority Based Budgeting (or PBB). PBB is a leading best practice in municipal government budgeting and allows cities to re-envision how they utilize their budgets. Specifically, PBB enables cities to measure investments in priorities, create programmatic insights, and identify opportunities for future action. PBB also offers an array of opportunities for public engagement in the city’s budgeting process. In order to achieve greater public involvement in the City’s budgeting process, the PBB Project Team conducted a PBB Community Input survey to create an opportunity for Flagstaff community members to provide their feedback and input on the PBB budget objectives. Specifically, the survey allowed Flagstaff community members to suggest edits to existing objectives or suggest new objectives to be added. City staff will present the key themes that emerged from the survey, as well as suggested edits to the PBB budget objectives that would work to incorporate this public input. The key themes from the survey, as well as a presentation that outlines the suggested edits, can be found as attachments in the agenda packet. After the PBB budget objectives are approved by Council, staff and Peer Review teams will utilize the approved objectives to score each of the City’s programs. This scoring data can then be used to further guide budgetary decision-making and prioritize programs based on their alignment with Flagstaff’s Key Community Priorities and Objectives. |
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INFORMATION: | |||||
Has there been previous council decision on this topic?
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Attachments: | Presentation | ||
Council Approved Priorites and Objectives Sept 22 Update | |||
Key Themes from Survey | |||
Neighborhood Map |
7.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||
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TITLE | |||||
Employee Survey Results | |||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | |||||
For information only | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
The Champions of Team Flagstaff conducted an all employee survey in 2019:
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INFORMATION: | |||||
See survey presentation | |||||
Attachments: | Employee Survey Results (Council Presentation) | ||
2019 Employee Survey Results (Full Presentation) |
8.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||
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TITLE | |||||
Housing Presentation to City Council on the impacts of COVID-19 on Flagstaff's most vulnerable community members | |||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | |||||
Provide the Flagstaff City Council and public with an overview of the impacts of COVID-19 on Flagstaff's most vulnerable community members from the perspective of three local social services providers. This presentation is informational only. | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
This purpose of this presentation is to provide City Council and the public an overview of the impacts of COVID-19 on Flagstaff's most vulnerable community members. Ross Schaefer Altenbaugh of Flagstaff Shelter Services, Sandra Flores of Catholic Charities and Michele Axlund of Coconino County Health and Human Services will briefly present on the impacts of COVID-19 to the vulnerable populations their agencies serve. The presentation will include information on how each agency has responded to the impacts of COVID-19 including their efforts to prevent and prepare for the Coronavirus. | |||||
INFORMATION: | |||||
Flagstaff Shelter Services, Catholic Charities, The Front Door, and Coconino County Health and Human Services are local social service agencies serving community members that are homeless, seriously mentally ill, exiting the justice system, or incarceration and/or positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the Coronavirus. With the turning of seasons and upcoming CDBG-CV funding availability, it is important that Council be informed by local service providers about the impacts experienced as well as those anticipated by the agencies in regard to COVID-19 and the welfare of Flagstaff's most vulnerable community members. | |||||
Attachments: | Vulnerable Populations Presentation |
9.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||
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TITLE: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Presentation and Recommendations: regarding additional CDBG-CV (Community Development Block Grant funding for prevention, preparation and response to Coronavirus) funds provided to the City of Flagstaff by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DESIRED OUTCOME: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Housing Staff is seeking direction from Flagstaff City Council on the allocation of $766,551 in additional CDBG-CV (Community Development Block Grant funding for prevention, preparation, and response to Coronavirus) funding provided to the City of Flagstaff by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act. Staff will come to the Council for a final funding decision for the use of these funds on November 17, 2020. In order for the City of Flagstaff to allocate the additional CDBG-CV funds as directed by Council, Flagstaff City Council must approve the submission of a third substantial amendment to the 20019/2020 Annual Action Plan to HUD. |
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Housing Staff is seeking Council direction on funding recommendations for the use of $766,551 in additional CDBG-CV funding. Staff requires this direction in order to bring forward a resolution on November 17, 2020, for approval of the required submission of a third substantial amendment of the 2019/2020 Annual Action Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
INFORMATION: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Financial Impact: Approval of Resolution 2020-61 will substantially amend the City of Flagstaff’s 2019/2020 Annual Action Plan for the 3rd time in order to incorporate additional CDBG-CV funds and funding allocations. Due to the health and safety concerns caused by the pandemic the amendment of the 2019/2020 Annual Action Plan is necessary to expedite CDBG-CV funding into the Flagstaff community. The amendment will incorporate CDBG-CV funds provided by the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act and funding allocations as directed by Council. The second City of Flagstaff CDBG-CV allocation is $766,551.00. The cumulative amount for all allocation rounds for the City of Flagstaff is $1,126,155. For this proposed allocation, the City has waived the indirect rate of 10% and applied a flat rate as opposed to 10% for allocation to administration in order to maximize community benefit. Policy Impact: The City of Flagstaff Council's CDBG Priorities:
REGIONAL PLAN: Goal NH.1. Foster and maintain healthy and diverse urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods in the Flagstaff region.
Staff received Council direction on local CDBG priorities at the January 29, 2019, Council meeting. Those priorities are identified in Policy Impact above and Background/ History below. On April 10, 2020, Council approved the first substantial amendment to the 2019/2020 Annual Action Plan. This initial amendment permitted Flagstaff Shelter Services to provide infectious disease prevention services instead of the previously intended employment services. FSS has provided expanded shelter and services in response to the Coronavirus for the past 7 months. Staff received Council direction on the 1st round of CDBG-CV funds allocated to the City of Flagstaff on May 12, 2020. Council then approved a 2nd substantial amendment to the 2019/2020 Annual Action Plan incorporating the CDBG-CV funds and Council directed allocations to Flagstaff Shelter Services, Coconino County Health and Human Services and Catholic Charities for public service programs preparing for, responding to, and preventing COVID-19. Options and Alternatives:
In order to receive and incorporate CDBG-CV funding, the City must submit to HUD the required substantial amendment to the 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan. This amendment describes how CDBG-CV funds will be used. To determine the most efficient and effective use of the CDBG-CV funds, Housing Staff contacted the three local, non-profit agencies who received allocations of CDBG-CV funds for projects preventing, preparing for, and responding to the Coronavirus in May 2020. These three agencies provide essential community services to vulnerable and low-moderate income community members and have successfully administered the City of Flagstaff's CDBG funded projects within the last 6 years. Staff discussed the urgent and critical funding needs for COVID-19 response with the directors of Flagstaff Shelter Services, Catholic Charities, and Coconino County Health and Human Services. The second disbursement of CDBG-CV funds provided by the CARES Act and allocated to the City of Flagstaff by HUD equals $766,551.00. Below is a list of the agency needs discussed with Housing Staff. All agency needs are in the public service category. For CDBG-CV allocations, HUD has waived the required 15% public service cap for projects aiming to prevent, prepare for and respond to the Coronavirus.
Key Considerations: All four projects administered by these agencies serve community members that are homeless, seriously mentally ill, exiting the justice system or incarceration, and/or positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the Coronavirus. Non-Congregate sheltering of individuals positive for and/or at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 protects not only our most vulnerable community members but the Flagstaff community as a whole by preventing the substantial spread of COVID-19 and the overburdening of our healthcare systems. Expanded Financial Considerations: For the third substantial amendment to the 2019/2020 Annual Action Plan, Housing Staff is recommending that the City of Flagstaff utilize a portion of the CDBG-CV funds primarily for services provided to individuals and families experiencing homelessness administered by Coconino County Health and Human Services, Flagstaff Shelter Services and Catholic Charities. The remaining funds will be brought back to City Council for allocation as part of the 2021/2022 Annual Action Plan process.
Community Benefits and Considerations: Considering overall community health as well as the health of Flagstaff’s most vulnerable community members, Housing Staff is recommending the funding of all four projects serving community members that are homeless, seriously mentally ill, exiting the justice system or incarceration and/or positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the Coronavirus that are listed above. Non-congregate sheltering of individuals positive for and/or at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 protects City-wide public health and prevents the substantial spread of COVID-19 amongst the homeless population and the entire community. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has encouraged consideration of approaches that prioritize the unique needs of low- and moderate-income persons and the development of partnerships between all levels of government and the private for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Housing Staff is recommending that the Council hold $176,551 of the $766,551 disbursement in reserve for allocation alongside the City of Flagstaff CDBG 2021/2022 Annual Entitlement. Staff intends to establish priorities with newly appointed Council members in December 2020 in order to release the Notice of Available Funds to the community as soon as possible. This allows potential sub-recipients, including those that may be new to the City’s CDBG grant process, sufficient time to evaluate COVID-19 related needs, and develop eligible and essential programs that aim to prevent, prepare for and respond to the Coronavirus and complete the grant application in a timely manner. The grant application will be simplified yet still allow Housing Staff and the CDBG Ranking Committee to perform a thorough Risk Assessment of all potential sub-recipients. This will permit new community partners serving low-moderate income community members impacted by COVID-19 to apply for CDBG-CV grant funding. The Public Service funding category cap requirement of 15% has been waived by HUD for CDBG-CV funds possibly making available nearly double the funds available for Public Service projects, historically the most competitive funding category for the City of Flagstaff CDBG. Given the rapidly changing community needs from the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Housing Staff believes that waiting to allocate the remaining funds is prudent and allows the City and its partners time to assess community needs related to COVID-19, brainstorm potential long term solutions and expand Community Involvement and Public Participation by utilizing the CDBG Ranking Committee in its recommendation process and providing a lengthier public comment period. Community Involvement: The CARES Act adds additional flexibility for CDBG-CV funding requirements in these unprecedented times. The required public comment period is reduced to not less than 5 days and grantees may use virtual public hearings when necessary for public health reasons. Utilizing these waivers of regulations, there was a five-day (instead of a 30 day) Public Comment Period from Nov 4th – 9th, 2020. An advertisement for Public Notice was published in the Arizona Daily Sun on Nov 3rd, and the proposed DRAFT Resolution and the DRAFT 2019/2020 Amended Annual Action Plan were made available on the City of Flagstaff website starting Nov 3rd, 2020. With efforts to eliminate the risk of supplanting and duplication of benefits in federal spending, all while expediting CDBG-CV dollars to the greatest need, housing staff contacted the three local, non-profit agencies who received CDBG-CV funds for projects preventing, preparing for, and responding to the Coronavirus. These three agencies provide essential community services to vulnerable and low-moderate income community members and have successfully administered the City of Flagstaff CDBG funded projects within the last 6 years. Staff discussed the urgent and critical funding needs for COVID-19 response with the directors of Flagstaff Shelter Services, Catholic Charities and Coconino County Health and Human Services. |
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Attachments: | CDBG-CV Presentation |
10.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||
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TITLE: | |||||
Discuss strategies that would recognize the true cost of carbon associated with transportation in Flagstaff and looking at options to offset that true cost in some fashion. | |||||
DESIRED OUTCOME: | |||||
Discussion and possible direction. | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
In 2018, the transportation sector accounted for 28 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, making it the largest share of the nation's emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from the burning of fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90 percent of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum-based, which includes gasoline and diesel. In Flagstaff, the transportation sector accounts for 42 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions (average of 2016 and 2018 emissions). This is the second-largest contributor to community-generated greenhouse gas emissions. The largest contributor is energy for the powering of buildings. |
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INFORMATION: | |||||
A carbon cost calculator was used to determine the cost of transportation-based emissions. This calculation is known as the social cost of carbon (SCC). The SCC is an estimate, in dollars, of the present value of future economic damages that would result from emitting one additional ton of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The SCC puts the effects of climate change into economic terms to help policymakers and other decision-makers understand the economic impacts of decisions that would increase or decrease emissions. The SCC is currently used by local, state, and federal governments to inform billions of dollars of policy and investment decisions in the United States and abroad. The cost factors used in Flagstaff's SCC is based on best practices among peer cities. The SCC is calculated at $55 per metric ton. The 2018 SCC of Flagstaff's greenhouse gas emissions is $44,590,000. The transportation sector alone accounts for $18,690,000. |
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Attachments: |
11.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||||
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TITLE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discussion regarding the City's Bed, Board, and Beverage (BBB) appropriation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Council Direction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
On May 19, 2020, three or more Councilmembers agreed to move forward on a Future Agenda Item Requests (F.A.I.R.) related to a discussion regarding the City's BBB appropriation. City staff will be seeking further direction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
INFORMATION: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The BBB tax was originally adopted by the Flagstaff voters in 1988. The BBB tax is a 2% local transaction privilege tax (TPT) levy on the gross revenue generated from hotels, motels, campgrounds, bars, and restaurants, and is in addition to all other state and local transaction privilege taxes. The BBB tax was originally approved for a 10-year period in 1988, and revenues were allocated to fund Tourism, Beautification, Economic Development, and Administration. On December 19, 1995, Council adopted Ordinance 1902 approving a reallocation of BBB Tax revenues. The BBB Tax allocation has remained the same since then and is set forth in our City Code, Chapter 3-06, Hospitality Industry Tax Revenues. The table below represents the original and current allocations:
At the March 5, 1996 General Election, a ballot measure was brought forth, Proposition 401, to request a continuance of the 2% BBB Tax rate for an additional 15-years. While the official ballot measure did not include specific allocation of revenues, the publicity pamphlet provided a Fact Sheet that shared the change in allocations. At the May 18, 2010 General Election, a ballot measure was brought forth, Proposition 401, to request a continuance of the 2% BBB Tax rate for an additional 15-years. While the official ballot measure did not include specific allocation of revenues, the information pamphlet provided information on the current allocations and purposes. Attached is the information pamphlet related to that election. As the current BBB Tax is set to expire May 31, 2028, staff recommends bringing a ballot measure to request an extension of the tax to the voters for the November 2024 General Elections with an additional opportunity two years later if the measure does not pass. The BBB Tax is codified under City Code Chapter 3-06, Hospitality Industry Tax Revenues. A copy of the code is attached. Staff has provided an updated City Council Reports related to BBB Tax recently. This and other reports are provided. |
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Attachments: | Ordinance 1909 BBB Reallocations | ||
March 1996 Proposition 401 | |||
May 2010 Proposition 401 | |||
City Code 3-06 Hospitality Tax | |||
CCR April 2016 | |||
CCR May 2017 | |||
CCR February 2018 | |||
CCR November 2020 |