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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-07-03 City Council Regular MinutesCITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY 3, 2012 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Apache Junction, Arizona, was held on July 3, 2012, at the Apache Junction City Council Chambers pursuant to the notice required by law. CALL TO ORDER Vice Mayor Dietz called the meeting to order at 7:12 p.m. INVOCATION Councilmember Wilson gave the Invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmember Waldron led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Councilmembers Present:Vice Mayor Dietz Councilmember Barker Councilmember Evans Councilmember Serdy Councilmember Waldron Councilmember Wilson Staff Present: (Mayor Insalaco was absent.) City Manager George Hoffman Assistant City Manager Bryant Powell City Clerk Kathleen Connelly City Attorney Joel Stern Public Safety Director Jerald Monahan Economic Development Director Steve Filipowicz Others Present:Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias Supervisory Librarian Tracie Compton REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 1 OF 12 ACCEPTANCE OF CONSENT AGENDA )Councilmember Barker MOVED THAT THE CONSENT AGENDA BE ACCEPTED AS PRESENTED; AND THAT RECEIPT OF THE 2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE APACHE JUNCTION PUBLIC LIBRARY BE ACKNOWLEDGED; AND THAT APPROVAL BE GIVEN FOR THE CONTRACT RENEWAL BETWEEN THE GREATER PHOENIX ECONOMIC COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT OF $20,963.00; THAT AUTHORIZATION BE GIVEN TO THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE CONTRACT PENDING FINAL APPROVAL AS TO FORM BY THE CITY ATTORNEY; AND THAT COUNCILMEMBER SERDY BE REAPPOINTED AS THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION REPRESENTATIVE TO THE GREATER PHOENIX ECONOMIC COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS; AND THAT THE LEGAL ACTION OF THE CITIES OF APACHE JUNCTION AND CASA GRANDE VERSUS PINAL COUNTY BE RATIFIED RETROACTIVELY. Councilmember Wilson SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS Vice Mayor Dietz announced there was to have been a presentation for the Community Partnership Award to Republic Services but it will be done at the next meeting. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CURRENT EVENTS Councilmember Wilson commented the Gateway to the East Valley Summer Edition 2012 has an article on Central Arizona College and there is a picture of Goldfield Ghost Town promoting Apache Junction. Councilmember Barker announced last Wednesday she attended the Desert Peak Awards presented to regional partnerships by the Maricopa Association of Governments.Out of 9 awards given, the City of Apache Junction received two of them, one for the police REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 2 OF 12 department for partnering efforts in domestic violence and the other for the city for partnering with other cities for the Topaz Regional Wireless Cooperative. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT City Manager George Hoffman commented they will have a formal expression of thanks to Republic Services in two weeks and they have the upcoming fireworks show. Councilmember Wilson stated he and Councilmember Serdy will be in the dunk tank for the Fourth of July Celebration. PUBLIC HEARINGS ORDINANCE NO. 1384, CASE AN -1-09, ANNEXATION OF APPROXIMATELY 50 ACRES OF VACANT STATE TRUST LAND AND ASSIGNING CITY ZONING TO SAID PROPERTY )Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias briefed the council on the item. Vice Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing on the item.There being no one wishing to speak, he closed the public hearing.He asked if they needed a motion to postpone the item. City Attorney Joel Stern stated they do not know when this item will come back. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it may come back with a different ordinance number. City Attorney Joel Stern stated they can make a motion to take no action. There was general discussion about making a motion to take no action. Councilmember Wilson MOVED THAT WE TAKE NO ACTION ON THIS ANNEXATION. REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 3 OF 12 Councilmember Barker SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. OLD BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR OPERATION OF A LOCAL VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER )Economic Development Director Steve Filipowicz briefed the council on the item. Mr. Larry Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the chamber, addressed the council.He stated the mayor had brought to his attention the concerns about referrals when people come into the visitor center and ask about businesses.If someone comes in and asks where a certain business is, they refer them to that business. They are not familiar with many businesses, home -based businesses and otherwise.About 3 months ago they purchased a laptop computer and placed it at the front desk.They set the home page as a search.They have trained one volunteer that is always at the front desk who can actually type in obscure businesses and see what results they get there.They cannot manage every business in the city.They cannot collect that type of data.Through this process they feel they can do a sufficient job in referring people per the questions that they ask. Councilmember Wilson asked what kinds of questions people ask. Mr. Larry Johnson stated one of the more obscure questions asked recently was how many turns are between Apache Junction and either Canyon Lake or Tortilla Flats.Some of the questions they have been asked he cannot mention in a public setting.A lot of people are in the visitors' center looking for things to do.They want to know about restaurants, attractions, the lure of the Apache Trail, the Lost Dutchman and the things the city is renowned for.They REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 4 OF 12 have a ton of people coming in for a phone book or a newspaper. It is a broad range of people that they interact with.The most common question is what they can do in Apache Junction. Councilmember Serdy commented he seems to see improvement every year.They are light years ahead of where they were under the previous director.He thinks the numbers are up, even in the bad economy, the numbers are continuing to go up. Mr. Larry Johnson stated the visitors' center numbers continue to climb.They were at 32,000 in last year's summary.The winter months are our apex.It is where they are obviously busy.They are also trying to introduce events and have engaged in social media.The video they produced has been a popular item as well.Because it is visible through UTube, it is something that our realtors, businesses and anyone can use to connect to our website.We want to attract businesses and we have done just that.They have created Shop Local material that reflects the Superstitions and a shopping bag.They are trying their best to do all they can to improve the community, to make it more attractive and appealing to businesses, residents and visitors.They want to focus on economic development through tourism development because it is here.They do not have to build it, they do not have to build infrastructure.They already have the things to lure the people in.They want to utilize the assets we already have, the natural existing assets as well as the wonderful assets we have along the Trail, to drive traffic into and through our community. Vice Mayor Dietz asked if the 32,000 included any hits on the website. Mr. Larry Johnson stated that is the amount of people that have actually walked through the door.Last month alone they had 400 phone calls; he estimated they have about 12,000 phone calls annually.They had 1.8 million visits to the website on average the last 3 years.The tourism video is on there and they have some great photos of the mountain and the area.They also have Facebook where they are trying to continue to extend the reach and broaden their audience base.They are now connecting with many of the REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 5 OF 12 activity directors in the parks.They are trying to extend that olive branch and talk about more of the events and activities going on in the community.They are trying to get more winter visitors engaged in the things going on.They have a lot of things going on.His door is open to suggestions.They are here to be progressive and he thihks they are doing a good job. Councilmember Wilson commented he has been involved in several of the activities out here during which he has noticed an increase in the number of visitors from other countries.Last year he talked to a group of seven that came from Great Britain to Apache Junction.They came specifically for Lost Dutchman Days.They got the information from our website and from other people they talked to.They have set up a community of their own outside of London that they have made into an Old West -type of community where they ride horses not English -style.It is amazing to him how many foreign visitors are coming to Apache Junction to see it specifically. Councilmember Evans asked if the video could be played on the two city channels. City Manager George Hoffman stated he does not know if it is on there, but that is something they talked about at the retreat.If they are not doing it, then we need to try and get the multiplier effect.He does not know the answer at this time but he will get her one.Unless there is some reason he is not aware of, he thinks it is a very good idea. Vice Mayor Dietz commented they need to utilize the other channel that the city has. Councilmember Evans commented she thinks Larry does a great job promoting the city.Anybody that can manage that many volunteers and not have a drinking problem she is really impressed with. Councilmember Barker commented she believes they have answered the mayor's problem in as much as they very specifically designate trying to keep the sales leakage from getting worse and hopefully drawing back on REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 6 OF 12 it.He had several examples that he meant to bring up that night and did not.It seems to her that if they are going to enhance city sales tax revenues then they have to be dealing with local merchants.They do not get sales tax from people outside the city.It seems to her that Steve is pushing the three year contract which she has no problem with.She believes the mayor was trying to say that he wanted the chamber to be here every year to make a presentation.She does not believe he would object to the three year contract.He just wants input every year. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they perhaps should add an additional sentence in the contract saying that on an annual basis there shall be a status report or something. City Manager George Hoffman commented it is already an internal goal of the chamber to try to reach out at least quarterly.That is why they have been seeing chamber representatives.He assumes that is not a problem. Mr. Larry Johnson stated it is not.They do not want to be redundant, which is why they report to them quarterly on some of the things that they are engaged in.They already have things in the works in the chamber to reverse some of the leakage they were referring to. They are already addressing a lot of concerns. Councilmember Barker commented she recognizes the difficulty in having a chamber with this membership and having this other piece which involves a few of these and a whole lot of these over here.If the residents' cash is going into promoting their own community, then that is what they want to promote. Mr. Larry Johnson agreed. City Manager George Hoffman commented they have a vastly improved and more productive relationship with chamber leadership.They are partnering with us with things like how to bring more events into the downtown. At the last meeting Larry brought a very broad -based, big REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 7 OF 12 picture view to the discussion.It was a valuable contribution. The chamber is part of the East Valley Chamber of Commerce Alliance.It is a private sector -oriented group.They consider comments to the state legislature.They reached out to Bryant and him and asked if they have perspectives to share with them. They do not have to do that.They are seeking to gather our point of view.They have to make their own recommendation back to that larger group but he values the fact that they would ask the question and meaningfully accept their point of view. Mr. Larry Johnson stated this is a collective effort and it takes everyone in this room to make it happen.We all have to be on the same page. Vice Mayor Dietz commented they can just go forward and that is where they are headed. Councilmember Serdy commented the Office of Tourism is pushing spring training and they have targeted all the cities, especially the California cities and Chicago, which benefits us the most.He asked if there is a way to build on spring training and get more awareness that Apache Junction is out here.They are seeing more and more younger visitors than they used to have. Mr. Larry Johnson stated some of their strategies are to include partnerships with attractions along the Trail.He is trying to find ways of combining that with a brochure they are producing that is a regional brochure. It will be called the Apache Trail Attractions Brochure.If they would chip in and create potentially more of these brochures, they could actually allocate more funding for advertising in the spring training guides, Gateway Magazine and things like that.They have a lot of things in the works, but they have a small budget to work with.He has to reach out to partners, reach out to the city and businesses, and get everyone on the same page. There was general discussion about a team that was here a long time ago. Councilmember Serdy commented one of their goals is to have quarterly events.They have Lost REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 8 OF 12 Dutchman Days in the spring, tomorrow is the Fourth of July Celebration, the chamber Festival of the Superstitions, getting bigger every year, is in the fall. Councilmember Barker stated the Christmas Parade is in the winter. Councilmember Serdy thanked Larry for all his hard work as a lot of the time he does it on his own. Economic Development Director Steve Filipowicz commented Sunny AZ Marketing Consortium has a special part of a page geared towards spring training.It is a very important 30 to 35 day window in February and March.You can walk into the chamber and see the volunteers; they are trying to do their best to welcome everyone and disseminate the information.Although the city did not pay for it, Mike's Road Trip did a special one on hiking Silly Mountain.We have that loaded and linked on the web page.On generic referrals, he would say that when a prospect walks in the chamber door or says he is looking for space and wants to bring his company here, they are meticulous about not trying to do the city's job.They make sure he and Janine are involved from the very outset. City Manager George Hoffman asked if there are changes to the contract that the council has been provided. Vice Mayor Dietz commented he has not even looked it over.He thought they were to look it over and get with Steve on any changes they might have.It is hard to make changes when it is given to them right now. City Manager George Hoffman stated he went through them.If they know of any, they can express them. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated the term seems to be one unanswered question.She asked if they wanted a one year term or a three year term. REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 9 OF 12 There was a general discussion on the length of the term.The consensus was a three year term with the annual overview. Councilmember Barker commented it is very plain.It says the parties are making it by mutual agreement to renew or extend.It is not a flat, three year contract.There is a stipulation that allows any party to make changes.It is another good reason to come back at that point. Vice Mayor closed the discussion with no motion being given at this time and moved on to the next item. NEW BUSINESS None. COUNCIL DIRECTION TO STAFF None. SELECTION OF MEETING DATES, TIMES, LOCATIONS, AND PURPOSES Councilmember Barker MOVED THAT AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 5:45 P.M. AND A WORK SESSION AT 7:00 P.M. BE HELD ON MONDAY, JULY 16, 2012, IN THE CITY COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM AND CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, RESPECTIVELY; AND THAT AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 5:45 P.M. BE HELD ON TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012 IN THE CITY COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM. Councilmember Waldron asked if there would be a regular meeting that night. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated the regular meeting is already set by city code.They do not need to make a motion. Councilmember Wilson SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 10 OF 12 The motion carried. CALL TO THE PUBLIC: Ms. Tess Nesser, 1511 S. Cactus, Apache Junction addressed the council regarding a fireworks sign located at Idaho Road and State Route 88. Vice Mayor Dietz commented he believes staff can take care of that and let public works know, and ADOT will take care of campaign signs there. ADJOURNMENT )Vice Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting at 8:03 p.m. Consent Agenda Items are as follows: 1. Acceptance of Agenda. 2. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of June 19, 2012. 3. Acknowledge receipt of the 2011-2012 Annual Report of the Apache Junction Public Library. 4. Consideration of contract renewal with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) for economic development services and reappointment of Councilmember Serdy as the City of Apache Junction representative to the GPEC Board of Directors. 5. Retroactive ratification for the legal action, cities of Apache Junction and Casa Grande v. Pinal County. ACCEPTED THIS 17TH DAY OF JULY, 2012, BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA. SIGNED AND ATTESTED TO THIS 17TH DAY OF JULY, 2012. OHWS./INSALACr0 Mayor REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 11 OF 12 ATTEST: KATHLEEN CONNELLY City Clerk CITY COUNCIL MINUTES CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Apache Junction, Arizona, held on the 3rd day of July, 2012.I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 10th day of July, 2012. KATHLEEN CONNELLY City Clerk REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JULY 3, 2012 PAGE 12 OF 12