CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 COUNCIL CHAMBERS 211 WEST ASPEN 4:00 P.M. AND 6:00 P.M. |
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MINUTES |
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1. |
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Nabours called the Regular Meeting of January 5, 2016, to order at 4:00 p.m.
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 regular meeting, 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. | ROLL CALL
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3. |
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND MISSION STATEMENT
The audience and City Council recited the Pledge of Allegiance and Mayor Nabours read the Mission Statement of the City of Flagstaff. MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the City of Flagstaff is to protect and enhance the quality of life of its citizens.
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4. | APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS None |
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5. | PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Public Participation enables the public to address the Council about an item that is not on the agenda. Comments relating to items that are on the agenda will be taken at the time that the item is discussed. If you wish to address the Council at tonight's meeting, please complete a comment card and submit it to the recording clerk as soon as possible. Your name will be called when it is your turn to speak. 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 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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Jeff Meilbeck, CEO and General Manager of NAIPTA, addressed Council to offer thanks to the Street Section and their work to keep the streets safe and clear during snow times. He stated that the bus system relies heavily on the work that is done by the snow plows and without them, they could not do their job. Mayor Nabours reported that he had received a letter from Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that indicates the City has complied with the eligibility and objective requirements of the CDBG program. He said that HUD was complimentary in the letter; it speaks well for Housing Manager Sarah Darr and her staff in the Housing Department. Mayor Nabours also thanked Wildland Fire Manager Paul Summerfelt for the work he put into the memo provided to the Council regarding the thinning project on Observatory Mesa. |
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6. |
PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS |
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7. | APPOINTMENTS 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 the City Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, for the purpose of discussing or considering employment, assignment, appointment, promotion, demotion, dismissal, salaries, disciplining or resignation of a public officer, appointee, or employee of any public body...., pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(1). None |
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8. | LIQUOR LICENSE PUBLIC HEARINGS | ||||||||||||||
A. | Consideration and Action on Liquor License Application: Randy Nations, “Farley's Market", 5130 N. US Highway 89, Series 10 (beer and wine store), New License. |
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Mayor Nabours opened the public hearing; there being no public comment he closed the public hearing. |
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Moved by Councilmember Jeff Oravits, seconded by Councilmember Karla Brewster to forward the application with a recommendation for approval to the State. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 7 - 0 | |||||||||||||||
9. |
CONSENT ITEMS
All matters under Consent Agenda are considered by the City Council to be routine and will be enacted by one motion approving the recommendations listed on the agenda. Unless otherwise indicated, expenditures approved by Council are budgeted items. None |
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10. | ROUTINE ITEMS | ||||||||||||||
A. | Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2015-22: An ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of Flagstaff amending qualifications for members who serve on certain Boards and Commissions. (Elimination of Specialty Appointments to Commissions) | ||||||||||||||
Senior Assistant City Attorney Anja Wendel stated that the second read of the ordinance includes an option for a definition of hospitality. Staff from the Legal and Finance Departments both agreed that the proposed definition is more clear.
Ruben Abeyta addressed Council in opposition of eliminating specialty appointments to the Tourism Commission. He stated that it is important to maintain the makeup of the commission with members who collect the BBB tax and have industry experience. |
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Moved by Vice Mayor Celia Barotz, seconded by Councilmember Putzova to read Ordinance 2015-22 by title only for the final time as amended. | |||||||||||||||
Moved by Councilmember Jeff Oravits, seconded by Councilmember Coral Evans to amend the motion to allow four Hospitality members on the Tourism Commission. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 3 - 4 | |||||||||||||||
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Moved by Vice Mayor Celia Barotz, seconded by Councilmember Eva Putzova to read Ordinance 2015-22 by title only for the final time as amended. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 4 - 3 | |||||||||||||||
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AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF, COCONINO COUNTY, ARIZONA, AMENDING QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERS WHO SERVE ON CERTAIN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AND CONSOLIDATING AND HARMONIZING COMMISSION DUTIES, BY AMENDING TITLE II, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 2-03, PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION, CHAPTER 2-13, TOURISM COMMISSION; CHAPTER 2-14, BEAUTIFICATION AND PUBLIC ART COMMISSION; CHAPTER 2-19, HERITAGE |
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PRESERVATION COMMISSION; CHAPTER 2-20, OPEN SPACES COMMISSION; AND AMENDING TITLE III, BUSINESS REGULATIONS, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 3-06, HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY TAX REVENUES, AND INCLUDING A CLERICAL CORRECTION TO CONFORM WITH THE CURRENT TAX RATE; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES, AND EFFECTIVE DATES |
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Moved by Vice Mayor Celia Barotz, seconded by Councilmember Eva Putzova to adopt Ordinance 2015-22 as amended. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 4 - 3 | |||||||||||||||
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RECESS
The 4:00 p.m. portion of the January 5, 2016, Regular Meeting recessed at 4:15 p.m.
6:00 P.M. MEETING
RECONVENE
Mayor Nabours reconvened the Regular Meeting of January 5, 2016, at 6:00 p.m.
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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 regular meeting, 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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11. | ROLL CALL
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12. | PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None |
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13. |
CARRY OVER ITEMS FROM THE 4:00 P.M. AGENDA |
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14. | PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS None |
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15. | REGULAR AGENDA | ||||||||||||||
A. | Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2016-02: An ordinance authorizing the acquisition and dedication of rights of way and easements for the realignment and improvement of Industrial Drive. (Dedication of right-of-way for improvements to Industrial Drive). | ||||||||||||||
Sterling Solomon stated that there had been some issues between the utility and private property owner; those issues have been resolved and this ordinance is the last step in the process. |
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Moved by Councilmember Scott Overton, seconded by Councilmember Jeff Oravits to read Ordinance 2016-02 by title only for the first time. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 6 - 0 | |||||||||||||||
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA, AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION AND DEDICATION OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AS A PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ESTABLISHING AND PROVIDING FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL DRIVE. | |||||||||||||||
B. | Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2016-01: An ordinance authorizing the acquisition of certain real property for use as a public right-of-way for a Roundabout at the Switzer Canyon Drive-Turquoise Drive intersection. | ||||||||||||||
Senior Project Manager Randy Whitaker addressed Council with a PowerPoint presentation that covered the following: SWITZER CANYON/TURQUOISE INTERSECTION SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS HISTORY PROJECT ASSESSMENT ROUNDABOUT ROUNDABOUT ILLUSTRATION AERIAL VIEW OF PROPOSED ROUNDABOUT COST CONCLUSION RECITALS Councilmember Oravits asked how much the installation of stop signs would be as well as the installation of a traffic signal. Mr. Whitaker indicated that he would have to report back to the Council on that information as he does not have it readily available. Councilmember Oravits asked if any other options had been considered for the intersection. Community Development Director Mark Landsiedel stated that the topic came before Council some time ago to discuss the options available; at that time the Council chose to move forward with the roundabout option and that is the path staff has been moving on. The request before Council at this time is to make sure the property is acquired as required by the agreement between the City and the Arizona Department of Transportation. Councilmember Oravits requested the information from the prior meeting to understand the various statistics that were offered along with the other options and background. Mr. Whitaker stated that the grant amount has increased since the prior discussion by about $100,000 and the required City funds have decreased. In applying the benefit cost ratio the roundabout is the alternative that best meets the safety concerns that exist. Mr. Landsiedel added that because of the geometrics of the location the roundabout is the best option. Councilmember Brewster asked if going with any of the other options would involve increasing lane widths or add additional lanes. Mr. Whitaker stated that it would not require more land but the anticipated increase in traffic load will likely cause the City to have to make further improvements. Todd and Pam Laflin addressed Council in opposition to the roundabout. They have concerns about safety and the devaluation of their property. They believe that the sounds and lights going into their house will increase and they fear that while severe accidents such as t-bone accidents will reduce, single vehicle accidents will increase. Councilmember Oravits asked if there would be a retaining wall between the roundabout and the Laflin’s house. Mr. Whitaker stated that the existing retaining wall is around four feet and will increase to about six feet and they estimate the retaining wall to the edge of the house to be about 24 feet after construction. Councilmember Oravits asked how far the wall is now to which Ms. Laflin answered approximately 34 feet. Vice Mayor Barotz asked staff to respond to the comments offered on the challenges to the safety of the roundabouts. She would like to understand how the City will not be trading one safety issue for another. City Engineer Rick Barrett offered that the situation is that there is a one way stop on one street coupled with a constant moving intersection. It is a very difficult intersection to navigate safely with the current conditions. Additionally, there are a number of developments nearby that will add additional traffic to the intersection. A traffic control device warrant is directly tied to a delay in traffic which is happening on Turquoise; drivers get impatient with the increased delay which often results in an unsafe turn and subsequent accident. Some kind of traffic control and additional lanes are needed to decrease the delay and make the intersection safer. The severity of the accidents will be greatly reduced because the number of two vehicle accidents will reduce. Single vehicle accidents may occur but the severity is greatly reduced when there is only one vehicle involved. The overall safety rating of the intersection will be improved with a roundabout. Councilmember Oravits asked about the pedestrian crossing options. Mr. Landsiedel offered that pedestrian refuges have been built into the design. Mr. Barrett stated that the design is such that it will filter pedestrian and bicycle traffic to an area that allows single lane crossing with refuge in between. The pedestrians can cross prior to the roundabout and cyclists can chose to enter as traffic or use the pedestrian crossing. Mayor Nabours asked if the pedestrian refuges or center island can be reduced in size to get the lanes further away from the houses. Mr. Barrett stated that he believes that the design team has done everything possible to mitigate this concern. In order for roundabouts to be effective they have to be big enough to accommodate larger vehicles and this is likely the smallest option available. Vice Mayor Barotz stated that she is reluctant to revisit the design and she is trusting the expertise of the design team and roundabout professionals. Mr. Whitaker stated that the Traffic Engineer worked with the designer to make sure he was confident that the most safe and effective design was created. Mr. Barrett stated that he would like to assure the Council and the public that he and the Traffic Engineer are confident with the various analysis that have been done and they are confident that this is the best design possible for the roundabout. He added that as the acquisition process moves forward staff will look closely at the value of the property needed and offer fair appraisal of such. Councilmember Oravits asked if there had been much dialogue with the parties involved with the acquisitions. Mr. Barrett stated that capital projects with property acquisitions associated with them have to go through enough of the design process to make sure adequate information is available with regards to exactly how much property is needed. This expertise is needed prior to conversations occurring and the proposed ordinance will be the first step in allowing staff to begin discussions with property owners. Mr. Whitaker added that as part of the grant process staff is not supposed to start discussions with property owners until the environmental assessments and 60% design is complete and that is where the project is at right now. Mayor Nabours expressed concern with the language in the ordinance that authorizes City staff to take all steps necessary to acquire the property and asked what process is in place should the cost of acquiring the property be higher than what was communicated to the Council. Ms. D’Andrea explained that the reason the ordinance has that language is because the right of way consultants require that authorization before they go and talk to the property owners. It is a best practice that is used but not required in statute. The Council can set parameters for staff for the negotiations and staff can report back as needed. Mr. Whitaker added that the consultants will only take the negotiations to a point where they feel that they have reached an impasse with the property owner, at that time it is brought back to the City for further action. Karl Jeffers addressed Council stating he is opposed to accepting federal money and would have liked to see the City install stop signs back in 2014 to evaluate the effects. |
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Moved by Vice Mayor Celia Barotz, seconded by Councilmember Scott Overton to read Ordinance 2016-01 by title only for the first time as amended (as referenced in the PowerPoint presentation). Mayor Nabours stated that at some point he would like to see if there is a majority of Council who would like this to come back for an update on the details. Councilmember Oravits stated that he will be voting against the ordinance. He feels that there are other priorities for which to utilize this or another grant. He is not in favor of going forward with eminent domain and he feels that there are too many questions that remain unanswered. Mayor Nabours stated the he also has concerns and is generally not supportive of roundabouts but he feels that it is not Council’s place to redesign the engineering; if staff feels that it is the best design for the location and situation then it is. Vice Mayor added that there are a number of projects happening up on the mesa and bigger traffic impacts are coming. It is necessary to do something about the problem now because it will just get worse as time goes by. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 5 - 1 | |||||||||||||||
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AN ORDINANCE OF THE FLAGSTAFF CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AS A PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A ROUNDABOUT PROJECT AT THE INTERSECTION OF SWITZER CANYON DRIVE AND TURQUOISE DRIVE. |
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Moved by Mayor Jerry Nabours, seconded by Councilmember Jeff Oravits that before staff is authorized to spend any money outside the proposed budgeted amount they must return to Council for review and authorization. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 6 - 0 | |||||||||||||||
C. | Discussion and Possible Action re: Annual Legislative Issues (THIS IS A STANDING ITEM - AS OF PUBLICATION OF THIS AGENDA NO ISSUES HAVE BEEN RAISED) No discussion. |
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16. | DISCUSSION ITEMS None |
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17. | FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS After discussion and upon agreement by a majority of all members of the Council, an item will be moved to a regularly-scheduled Council meeting. None |
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18. | INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS FROM COUNCIL AND STAFF, FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS | ||||||||||||||
Mr. Copley reminded the Council about the special meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 7, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. for the continuation of the public hearing for the Utility Rate Study. He also reported that the Council budget retreat is scheduled for February 11 – 12, 2016 and he asked Council to consider cancelling the regular work session on February 9, 2016 and postpone those scheduled items to the work session of February 23, 2016. |
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Moved by Mayor Jerry Nabours, seconded by Councilmember Jeff Oravits to cancel the regular Work Session of February 9, 2016. | |||||||||||||||
Vote: 6 - 0 | |||||||||||||||
Vice Mayor Barotz requested a Future Agenda Item Request to discuss traffic congestion in the context of winter snow play. There is a huge public safety issue with people parking along Highway 180 and sledding towards the road. She feels that the traffic issue needs to be revisited as the problem will continue to increase without some kind of action. She would like to have a discussion with the Forest Service about moving snow play south of the City. Mayor Nabours added that the County was discussing a possible snow play area at Fort Tuthill and suggested they be included in the discussion as well. Councilmember Evans stated that she also received a number of complaints about the conditions on Highway 180. It is a big issue that has a big, negative impact on the quality of life of those who live in those areas. It is a major safety issue and a trash issue; she is not looking for another update on the strategic plan but a solution on how to move traffic off Highway 180 to another area of town. Vice Mayor Barotz requested information about the citizen commission that is referenced in the publicity pamphlet for the 2014 November election regarding the Flagstaff Road Repair and Street Safety Initiative. The material states that the citizen commission is charged with overseeing the expenditures of the project and she would like more information about if the commission is active and what their functions are. |
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19. | ADJOURNMENT | ||||||||||||||
The Regular Meeting of the Flagstaff City Council held January 5, 2016, adjourned at 7:25 p.m. |
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CERTIFICATION I, ELIZABETH A. BURKE, do hereby certify that I am the City Clerk of the City of Flagstaff, County of Coconino, State of Arizona, and that the above Minutes are a true and correct summary of the Meeting of the Council of the City of Flagstaff held on January 5, 2016. I further certify that the Meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present.
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