NOTE:

IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROVISIONS OF THE ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES AND THE FLAGSTAFF CITY CHARTER THE SUMMARIZED MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE NOT VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTS.  ONLY THE ACTIONS TAKEN AND DISCUSSION APPEARING WITH QUOTATION MARKS ARE VERBATIM.  AUDIO RECORDINGS OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE.

SUMMARIZED MINUTES

COUNCIL MEETING

October 4, 2005

6:00 p.m.

A Meeting of the Flagstaff City Council was held on October 4, 2005 convening at 6:12 P.M., in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 211 West Aspen Avenue, Flagstaff, Arizona.

CALL TO ORDER

The Meeting was called to order by Mayor Donaldson.

1.      PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Councilmember Silva asked those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

2.      INVOCATION

Councilmember Silva led a moment of silence.

3.      ROLL CALL

On roll call, the following were present:

Mayor Donaldson

Vice-Mayor White

Councilmember Babbott

Councilmember Cooper

Councilmember Haughey

Councilmember Kelty

Councilmember Silva

Also present were:

City Manager, Dave Wilcox

City Attorney, Patricia Boomsma

4.       MINUTES

A.

Consideration of Minutes: Regular Council Meeting of September 20, 2005.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve the Minutes as submitted/corrected.

Councilmember Silva moved to approve the Minutes as submitted, seconded by Councilmember Haughey.  The motion passed on unanimous vote.

5.        PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Betty McEntire and Emily Burnett presented Council with information on Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities.

Bret Mosing presented a petition to the Council requesting the City construct four regulation-sized softball parks as approved by the Flagstaff voters in the 1996 bond election.

Councilmembers requested that the issue raised by Mr. Mosing be placed on an upcoming agenda for discussion.

Chris Luginbuhl requested that Council direct staff to make substantive changes needed to shielding, lighting levels, and specifications that will restrict certain bidders from the bidding process before returning comments to the contractor on the Thorpe Park Bond Improvements project tomorrow.

6.       CONSENT – GENERAL

A.

Consideration of Sole Source Payment:  Extension of electrical service to Lake Mary Well No. 2.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Approve payment to APS in the amount of $17,678.42.

B.

Consideration of Sole Source Payment:  Repairs to the variable frequency drive for Lake Mary Well No. 8.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

(1) Approve payment to Keller Equipment Company in the amount of $26,122.72, and a contingency allowance of $1,306.14 (5%), plus applicable sales tax for both.

C.

Consideration of Settlement Memorandum:  Fourth Street railroad crossing project condemnation action.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Reject the terms of the Settlement Memorandum between the City of Flagstaff and Mardian Industries No. 1, L.P., dated May 26, 2005.

Councilmember Cooper moved to approve the Consent-General Calendar with the exception of Item 6C.  The motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor White and passed on unanimous vote.

Returning to Item 6C, Councilmember Silva moved to take the recommended action to reject the terms of the Settlement Memorandum, seconded by Councilmember Haughey.

Councilmember Haughey moved to amend the motion to allow staff to make a counter offer, seconded by Councilmember Cooper.  The vote was unanimous in favor.

The motion to take the recommended action as amended passed on unanimous vote.

Additional discussion on Item 6C occurred later in the meeting, but is included here for the sake of clarity.

Vice-Mayor White moved to reconsider Item 6C, seconded by Councilmember Kelty.

Opposed to the recommended action to reject the terms of the Settlement Memorandum between the City of Flagstaff and Mardian Industries No. 1, L.P. were:

Bill Pritchard Jr., 8855 Crystal View Lane, Flagstaff

Richard Bruns, 311 Vista Drive, Prescott

Joe Abodegly, Attorney for Mardian Ind., 1345 W. Monroe St., Phoenix

Dan Mardian, 221 S. 35th Avenue, Phoenix

Flor Lom translating for Juan Ibarra, 2701 E. Industrial #5, Flagstaff

The following reasons were given in opposition to rejecting the Settlement Memorandum:

·        

The project has greatly impacted Mr. Pritchard’s business, and decreased the size of his commercial yard by 50%.

·        

The City misrepresented the effects of the project on the nearby businesses and homes.

·        

The posted speed limit of 40 mph is not being observed, impacting the safety of the people living and working in the area.

·        

Since the road alignment, some of the trailers in the Diamond T Mobile Home Park are only four feet from the dividing wall, which is in violation of City code, and a hazard for the local children.

·        

The road alignment took a lot of the frontage of Mr. Mardian’s property and the telephone lines are blocking where they used to have ingress and egress around the sides of the trailers.

·        

The City went to mediation hearings, reached a settlement agreement, and is now reneging on that agreement.

·        

The two exits of the trailer park were poorly designed, and it is very difficult for vehicles to see on-coming traffic.

·        

The City did not allow the trailers closest to the new road to be moved to the back of the park.

·        

Negotiating a settlement with City staff members and the City-hired attorney in this case has been very difficult.

The motion to reconsider failed on unanimous vote.

7.      CONSENT – CONTRACTUAL

A.

Consideration of Proposals:  Retirement Health Savings Plan.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Reject all proposals received.

Councilmember Babbott moved to reject all proposals, seconded by Councilmember Cooper.  The motion passed on unanimous vote.

B.

Consideration of Service Agreement:  Compost market analysis.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

(1) Approve the agreement with R. Alexander Associates, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $23,910.00; (2) authorize the City Manager to sign the necessary documents; and (3) authorize change order authority in the amount of $1,090.00 to cover potential costs associated with unanticipated or additional items of work.

Councilmember Cooper moved to accept the recommended action, seconded by Vice-Mayor White.  The vote was unanimous in favor.

8.      BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

A.

Consideration of Appointments:  Diversity Awareness Commission.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Discuss in Executive Session and, at the Council meeting, make one appointment to a partial term expiring February, 2006, and one appointment to a full term expiring February, 2008.

Councilmember Silva moved to appoint Charlotte Dodgson to a partial term expiring February, 2006, and Scott Leppla to a term expiring February, 2008.

B.

Consideration of Appointment:  Disability Awareness Commission.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Discuss in Executive Session and, at the Council meeting, make one appointment to a partial term expiring in March, 2008.

Withdrawn.

9.       PUBLIC HEARINGS

(No items were submitted.)

10.     ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

A.

Consideration of Ordinance No. 2005-11:  An ordinance amending Title 6, Police Regulations, Chapter 6-01, General Offenses, by adding Section 6-01-001-0022 prohibiting camping on public property within Flagstaff City limits.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Read Ordinance No. 2005-11 for the final time by title only.

Adopt Ordinance No. 2005-11.

Councilmember Haughey moved to read Ordinance No. 2005-11 for the final time by title only.  The motion was seconded by Councilmember Cooper.

Vice-Mayor White moved to amend Ordinance No. 2005-11 in Section 1 as follows:

It is unlawful for any individual to camp on public property within the Flagstaff city limits unless specifically authorized by law or lease agreement.  . . .”

(1)

Sleeping activities or making preparation to sleep including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping.

(21)

Storing personal belongings.

(32)

Making any fire, other than in a fire or barbecue pit provided by the City for such use;

(43)

Using any tent, shelter, vehicle or other non-mobile structure for sleeping living accommodation purposes;

(54)

Cooking, other than in a fire or barbecue pit provided by the City for such use.

The above listed activities shall constitute camping when it reasonable appears, in light of all the circumstances, that the participants, in conducting such activities, are in fact using the area for living accommodation purposes regardless of the intent of the participants or the nature of any other activities in which they may also be engaging.

Councilmember Kelty seconded the motion to amend.

The following issues were discussed during Council dialogue:

·        

The amendment makes this ordinance a camping ordinance instead of a sleeping ordinance.

·        

The deletions weaken the ordinance and its intended goals.

·        

The amended version is too ambiguous.

·        

Room for discretion on the part of the police department should be allowed.

·        

The Council’s duty is to understand the unintended consequences of policy as well as the intended consequences.

·        

While the intended goal is to give the police department authority and legal backing to address problems in the community, this ordinance does not accomplish that goal.

·        

The ordinance casts too wide a net, including the poor, working families in this community.

·        

The majority of Flagstaff’s citizens are in favor of a no-camping on public property ordinance.

·        

The discussion on increasing resources for the homeless needs to take place before beginning to criminalize people who have no other choices.

The motion to amend failed on majority roll call vote as follows:

Mayor Donaldson

Nay

Vice-Mayor White

Aye

Councilmember Babbott

Aye

Councilmember Cooper

Nay

Councilmember Haughey

Nay

Councilmember Kelty

Aye

Councilmember Silva

Nay

Councilmember Haughey moved to amend Ordinance No. 2005-11 by adding the following in Section 1:

“The above listed activities shall constitute camping when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that the participants, in conducting such activities, are in fact using the area for living accommodation purposes regardless of the intent of the participants or the nature of any other activities in which they may also be engaging.”

“No person shall be arrested for a violation of this ordinance unless the person continues to engage in such conduct after warning by any police officer or authorized representative of the government entity responsible for such public property, or unless such property has been conspicuously posted with a warning of the provisions of this ordinance.”

The motion was seconded by Councilmember Cooper.

The City Attorney clarified that the purpose in making violations to the ordinance a Class I Misdemeanor, which includes a $2,500 fine, is to make it consistent with camping violations in the Land Development Code.  The intent is to equalize the same fine for the same activity, whether on private or public lands.

Of the approximately 165 citations issued for camping on public property prior to this ordinance, all of the charges have been dismissed, and any outstanding warrants quashed.

The motion to amend passed on majority roll call vote as follows:

Mayor Donaldson

Aye

Vice-Mayor White

Nay

Councilmember Babbott

Nay

Councilmember Cooper

Aye

Councilmember Haughey

Aye

Councilmember Kelty

Nay

Councilmember Silva

Aye

The following individuals spoke in opposition to Ordinance No. 2005-11:

John McCulloch, 2 Hillside Street, Flagstaff

David McKell, 111 E. Oak Avenue #4, Flagstaff

Joanne Finch, P.O. Box 26214, Munds Park

James Oliver, homeless, Flagstaff

Jane Smith, 433 West Street, Flagstaff

Rev. Kevin Ellison, P.O. Box 23703, Flagstaff

Janet Sweigart, 123 N. Peaks Parkway, Flagstaff

Rudy Preston, 106 S. O’Leary, Flagstaff

Karna Otten, 1550 N. Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff

Rene Kladzyk, 863 Montvale #4, Flagstaff

Allison Payne, 508 Philomena Drive, Flagstaff

Michael Diaz, 122 E. Butler Avenue, Flagstaff

The following arguments were cited as reasons to reject the ordinance:

·          

The City already has an ordinance to address parking on public streets for five months out of the year.

·          

The item should be tabled until a task force is appointed to address homeless issues in the community.

·          

Public shower facilities could be provided by the City, with a nominal fee to cover expenses.

·          

The ordinance is unconstitutional.

·          

There are not adequate shelters available to provide for the number of homeless in the community.

·          

The ordinance promotes racism and is directed toward a certain population demographic.

·          

Other communities may have similar bans, but they also have more resources to deal with the issue.

·          

Poor working families are caught in the too widely cast net.

·          

The ordinance makes sleeping in public a crime.

·          

It is the City Council’s duty to prevent the tyranny of the majority.

Speaking in support of the ordinance were:

Gene Harris, 109 E. Cedar Avenue, and Flagstaff Police Department

The following arguments were offered in support of the ordinance:

·          

Public order in the community is preserved by this ordinance.

·          

The community should not be allowed to turn into an open campground.

·          

The ordinance seeks to make parks, trails, and open spaces safe for all citizens.

·          

Camping on public land presents forest fire danger, trash, and public health issues such as untreated human waste.

·          

Most police contact with the homeless is complaint driven.

Council discussed the possibility of setting up a task force or holding a town hall to address the issues of homelessness, and to gauge whether citizens would support a tax increase to fund a homeless shelter.

Councilmember Babbott moved to table the item until the first meeting in January 2006, pending the formation of a committee to look at the designation of a safe place for homeless.  The motion was seconded by Vice-Mayor White, and failed on majority roll call vote as follows:

Mayor Donaldson

Nay

Vice-Mayor White

Aye

Councilmember Babbott

Aye

Councilmember Cooper

Nay

Councilmember Haughey

Nay

Councilmember Kelty

Aye

Councilmember Silva

Nay

Council directed staff to schedule a town hall in January of 2006, as a first step in forming a task force to seek solutions on homeless issues.

The motion to read as amended passed on majority roll call vote as follows:

Mayor Donaldson

Aye

Vice-Mayor White

Nay

Councilmember Babbott

Nay

Councilmember Cooper

Aye

Councilmember Haughey

Aye

Councilmember Kelty

Nay

Councilmember Silva

Aye

Title was read as follows:

Ordinance No. 2005-11

An ordinance amending Title 6, Police Regulations, Chapter 6-01, General Offenses, by adding Section 6-01-001-0022 prohibiting camping on public property within Flagstaff City limits.

Councilmember Haughey moved to adopt Ordinance No. 2005-11, seconded by Councilmember Silva.  The motion passed on majority roll call vote as follows:

Mayor Donaldson

Aye

Vice-Mayor White

Nay

Councilmember Babbott

Nay

Councilmember Cooper

Aye

Councilmember Haughey

Aye

Councilmember Kelty

Nay

Councilmember Silva

Aye

B.

Consideration of Ordinance No. 2005-23:  An ordinance authorizing the acquisition of real property in the Rio de Flag Wash, near the east end of Railhead Avenue.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Read Ordinance No. 2005-23 for the first time by title only.

Councilmember Silva moved to read Ordinance No. 2005-23 for the first time by title only, seconded by Councilmember Haughey.  The motion passed on unanimous vote and title was read as follows:

Ordinance No. 2005-23

An ordinance authorizing the acquisition of real property in the Rio de Flag Wash, near the east end of Railhead Avenue.

C.

Consideration of Resolution No. 2005-109:  A resolution authorizing the acceptance of a 2005 Homeland Security Grant through the Arizona Division of Emergency Management in the amount of $1,000,000 to deploy the State of Arizona North Region Heavy Rescue Unit.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Read Resolution No. 2005-109 by title only.

Adopt Resolution No. 2005-109.

Councilmember Haughey moved to read Resolution No. 2005-109 by title only, seconded by Vice-Mayor White.

Dave Wilcox, City Manager, recommended that the Council table the item until the financial impacts of accepting the grant are fully presented to the Council.  He stated it would be premature to move forward without that information.

Councilmember Cooper moved to table the item until the financial implications are known.  The motion was seconded by Councilmember Silva.  The motion to table failed on majority roll call vote as follows:

Mayor Donaldson

Nay

Vice-Mayor White

Nay

Councilmember Babbott

Nay

Councilmember Cooper

Aye

Councilmember Haughey

Nay

Councilmember Kelty

Nay

Councilmember Silva

Aye

The motion to read passed on unanimous vote, and title was read as follows:

Resolution No. 2005-109

A resolution authorizing the acceptance of a 2005 Homeland Security Grant through the Arizona Division of Emergency Management in the amount of $1,000,000 to deploy the State of Arizona North Region Heavy Rescue Unit.

Councilmember Haughey moved to adopt Resolution No. 2005-109, seconded by Vice-Mayor.  The vote was unanimous in favor.

Dave Wilcox, City Manager, stated that the Hatch Act is not a concern regarding this grant and that it addresses political activity in elections, not political activity regarding lobbying.

Michael Iacona, Fire Chief, stated it is not required that the equipment be replaced as a result of use and being disposed of.  However, the State needs to be advised when it is disposed of.

11.     OTHER BUSINESS

(No items were submitted.)

12.    INFORMATIONAL ITEMS TO OR FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL OR CITY MANAGER.

Council requested the following items be placed on an upcoming agenda:

·        

The recommendations of the Economic Incentive Committee.

·        

An ordinance to address over-the-counter sales of ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine.

·        

The National League of Cities Adopt-a-City Program.

Council would also like to discuss the possibility of canceling the October 31, 2005 Work Session because it falls on Halloween.

13.    ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before the Council, the Meeting was adjourned at 8:47 P.M.

MAYOR

ATTEST:

CITY CLERK

CERTIFICATION

STATE OF ARIZONA,

Coconino County.

)

)

)

ss.

I, MARGIE BROWN, 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 October 4, 2005.  I further certify that the Meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present.

DATED this 19th day of October, 2005.

CITY CLERK