CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
211 WEST ASPEN AVE
3:00 P.M.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
211 WEST ASPEN AVE
3:00 P.M.
MINUTES
1.
Call to Order
Mayor Deasy called the meeting of the Flagstaff City Council held February 22, 2022, to order at 3:02 p.m.
Mayor Deasy called the meeting of the Flagstaff City Council held February 22, 2022, to order at 3:02 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 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).
2.
Roll Call
NOTE: One or more Councilmembers may be in attendance through other technological means.
Others present: City Manager Greg Clifton; City Attorney Sterling Solomon.
NOTE: One or more Councilmembers may be in attendance through other technological means.
| PRESENT: MAYOR DEASY (virtual) VICE MAYOR DAGGETT (virtual) COUNCILMEMBER ASLAN COUNCILMEMBER MCCARTHY COUNCILMEMBER SALAS (virtual) COUNCILMEMBER SHIMONI COUNCILMEMBER SWEET (virtual) |
ABSENT: |
Others present: City Manager Greg Clifton; City Attorney Sterling Solomon.
3.
Pledge of Allegiance, Mission Statement, and Land Acknowledgement
The Council and audience recited the pledge of allegiance, Councilmember Aslan read the Mission Statement of the City of Flagstaff, and Councilmember Salas read the Land Acknowledgement.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Council and audience recited the pledge of allegiance, Councilmember Aslan read the Mission Statement of the City of Flagstaff, and Councilmember Salas read the Land Acknowledgement.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the City of Flagstaff is to protect and enhance the quality of life for all.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Flagstaff City Council humbly acknowledges the ancestral homelands of this area’s Indigenous nations and original stewards. These lands, still inhabited by Native descendants, border mountains sacred to Indigenous peoples. We honor them, their legacies, their traditions, and their continued contributions. We celebrate their past, present, and future generations who will forever know this place as home.
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.
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.
None.
5.
Review of Draft Agenda for the March 1, 2022 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.
None.
6.
Museum Flood Project Updates
Public Works Director Scott Overton, Public Affairs Director Sarah Langley, Stormwater Manager Ed Schenk, Streets Director Sam Beckett, Project Managers Julie Leid, Christopher Tressler, and Christine Cameron provided a presentation that covered the following:
Vice Mayor Daggett asked Ms. Leid if the Fuller Modeling is available to the public. Ms. Leid stated that the updated maps will be available to the public. Mr. Christopher Tessler stated that the County is going through the process now and that they are meeting with people one-on-one first. They are letting the landowners know first and then they will let the public at large know.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the feasibility study and if it would be available to the public. Ms. Leid stated that it is currently released to City Staff and Mr. Overton stated that staff is working with legal and risk to see what their requirements are to release the document. He will ensure that staff is as transparent as the legal limit allows. City Attorney Sterling Solomon stated that legal staff has the document at the top of their priority list.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the pinch point at Route 66 and how far up stream the water would back up. Ms. Leid stated that it is a complex model that is not yet complete and that she does not know at this time, but more detention basins upstream will assist.
Councilmember Aslan asked about the Killip Basin and if it is not being used for water detention, will it be used for park space. Mr. Overton stated that the FUSD IGA allows the capacity to contain 11-acre-feet of water which will slowly dissipate into the already existing detention on Third Street. The fields will be seeded, but until staff can see the water basin patterns with stabilization, putting down artificial turf does not make sense. Staff will be working to ensure that the fields are usable.
Councilmember Aslan asked about the flow rate. Ms. Leid stated that city code requires that all basins must drain within 36 hours to prevent water-born disease.
Mr. Overton spoke about connecting the feasibility study with the mid-term solutions plan.
Councilmember Shimoni spoke to increased communication and suggested a bilingual video.
Gary Miller spoke about flood walls. Mr. Miller is an individual property owner concerned about flood mitigation and not something Staff has prepared plans and how-to guides to prepare flood walls.
Mr. Tessler gave an update on the Park Sediment Basins up street of Linda Vista.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about a no adverse impact standard and if City and County projects are looking for that standard as well. Mr. Tessler stated the County brings in a third-party to review for an analysis for adverse effects. Vice Mayor Daggett asked about projects upstream of Grandview and if they are included in the modeling so there is a sense of how that effects residents who are downstream of the Linda Vista Culvert. Mr. Tessler responded that all the modeling has not been completed yet but as they move forward with more robust flood mitigation measures the significant infrastructure that is in place and how that effects the residents.
Mr. Overton stated that staff wants to be sincere and will not be able to design their way out of all storm events.
Mayor Deasy stated that he has heard positive feedback from several residents on this option.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked what LBAR is. Mr. Schenk explained it and how it measures elevation accurately. Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the gas line and where it is. Mr. Schenk addressed the location.
Public Participation:
Dawn Rodriguez addressed Mayor and Council about her experience with the aftermath of the flooding. She stated that the City refuses to answer simple questions, but that she is seeing a lot of progress and she is confident that people are listening.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Rodriguez if she feels that the City is on a good track. Ms. Rodriguez stated that she feels that things are better than she expected and the town hall today was a complete 180 from her previous experience. Mayor Deasy stated that Ms. Rodriguez is a big part of keeping the momentum going.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Langley if it is possible to create a video that talks about what Ms. Leid presented on and the future work of the project. Ms. Langley stated that staff can work on a video like that. She added that staff discussed adding to the newsletter the initial findings of the feasibility study.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Leid about the modeling if there is anything that the model can tell us about peak flow and at what point will the infrastructure be able to handle anything that is thrown at us. Ms. Leid clarified that the question was about recovery of the watershed and then replied that they have had specialists from University of Arizona address these questions. Mr. Schenk stated that this is not an easily answered question. There was a bit of recovery after the fire in 2019 and what is really difficult in modeling is determining climate conditions. For example, in 2020 there was a lot of tree and ground cover mortality. Mr. Tessler addressed the recovery of the watershed as well and the difficulty of modeling the recovery. Long-term prognosis is that the watershed will be compromised for years.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked Ms. Langley if there were any plans for community meetings. Ms. Langley stated that staff is planning to meet with Coconino County to discuss what the effort would look like for next monsoon season with larger scale community meetings. For flood mitigation, staff feels that the current channels are working well.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about sandbags and that residents need lead time on them. Mr. Overton stated that the engineering teams talk about it often and are in agreement that the short-term mitigation efforts will need to stay in place. He spoke about the production and the effort for sandbags. Vice Mayor Daggett asked about Spruce Wash behind residences on Grand View and if it is scheduled to be dredged. Mr. Schenk stated that there are a few areas that still need sediment removal. There is not currently a dredge planned and that he does not see any improvements planned since it would not provide much relief at this time.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the oversight of contractors and evaluation of effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Mr. Overton explained the oversight and how the contactors are held to the standards. Mr. Tessler asked Vice Mayor if she is referring to long-term or short-term mitigation. Vice Mayor Daggett explained that she is referring to the short-term mitigation occurring now and asked about the process for overseeing all of that and what the County is doing to evaluate the effectiveness. Mr. Tessler stated that different areas have been assigned to different engineering groups and that they evaluate the effectiveness of the mitigations when there is a flooding event. There is City staff and County staff as well as engineering consultants who get out when it is safe and take videos of the mitigation. The work is variable because of the flow of sediment and the work is very dynamic. The work is done by boots on the ground and modeling in conjunction to create more and refined mitigation strategies.
Councilmember McCarthy asked Ms. Leid about the modeling and the assumed flow rate. Ms. Leid stated that they maximize the capacity of the culvert and how much that it can convey. In comparison to what was seen this summer, it was in range. There are no flow gauges out there, but we know that we are pretty close to that. Councilmember McCarthy spoke about the different flow rates in the different areas of the flows. Ms. Leid addressed a question from Councilmember Shimoni about the West Street Wash that connects to First Street. The investment made in the Killip Detention Basin will help that and will allow the water to flow more slowly.
Councilmember Shimoni asked if there might be a decline in flow rate in five or so years. Mr. Bertelsen referenced the Schultz Fire scar. He addressed the work that is being done and that even with mitigation there will be a long healing process that staff cannot predict what will happen. He added that the interventions being made will be helpful.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Langley if there could be a shortcut added to the City homepage for Museum Flood Mitigation efforts. Ms. Langley stated that the emergency alert has been reserved for active emergencies and that they will be adding that closer to the summer and that staff will determine a good link area for now. Councilmember Shimoni thanked the City Manager for his work on this. City Manager Clifton stated that the project has been a team effort and has been very collaborative.
- Agenda
- Flood Cleanup – City Work Order
- Flood Cleanup – Contract
- Flood Cleanup – Frances Short Pond
- Feasibility Study Update
- Building on the summit
- Build in segments
- Evaluate options
- Long haul effort
- Weekly meetings and shared information
Vice Mayor Daggett asked Ms. Leid if the Fuller Modeling is available to the public. Ms. Leid stated that the updated maps will be available to the public. Mr. Christopher Tessler stated that the County is going through the process now and that they are meeting with people one-on-one first. They are letting the landowners know first and then they will let the public at large know.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the feasibility study and if it would be available to the public. Ms. Leid stated that it is currently released to City Staff and Mr. Overton stated that staff is working with legal and risk to see what their requirements are to release the document. He will ensure that staff is as transparent as the legal limit allows. City Attorney Sterling Solomon stated that legal staff has the document at the top of their priority list.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the pinch point at Route 66 and how far up stream the water would back up. Ms. Leid stated that it is a complex model that is not yet complete and that she does not know at this time, but more detention basins upstream will assist.
Councilmember Aslan asked about the Killip Basin and if it is not being used for water detention, will it be used for park space. Mr. Overton stated that the FUSD IGA allows the capacity to contain 11-acre-feet of water which will slowly dissipate into the already existing detention on Third Street. The fields will be seeded, but until staff can see the water basin patterns with stabilization, putting down artificial turf does not make sense. Staff will be working to ensure that the fields are usable.
Councilmember Aslan asked about the flow rate. Ms. Leid stated that city code requires that all basins must drain within 36 hours to prevent water-born disease.
Mr. Overton spoke about connecting the feasibility study with the mid-term solutions plan.
Councilmember Shimoni spoke to increased communication and suggested a bilingual video.
Gary Miller spoke about flood walls. Mr. Miller is an individual property owner concerned about flood mitigation and not something Staff has prepared plans and how-to guides to prepare flood walls.
Mr. Tessler gave an update on the Park Sediment Basins up street of Linda Vista.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about a no adverse impact standard and if City and County projects are looking for that standard as well. Mr. Tessler stated the County brings in a third-party to review for an analysis for adverse effects. Vice Mayor Daggett asked about projects upstream of Grandview and if they are included in the modeling so there is a sense of how that effects residents who are downstream of the Linda Vista Culvert. Mr. Tessler responded that all the modeling has not been completed yet but as they move forward with more robust flood mitigation measures the significant infrastructure that is in place and how that effects the residents.
Mr. Overton stated that staff wants to be sincere and will not be able to design their way out of all storm events.
- Cedar to Dortha Channel Improvements
- Killip Detention Basins
- Killip Inlet at Ponderosa Park
- Siren System
Mayor Deasy stated that he has heard positive feedback from several residents on this option.
- South Mount Elden Updates
Vice Mayor Daggett asked what LBAR is. Mr. Schenk explained it and how it measures elevation accurately. Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the gas line and where it is. Mr. Schenk addressed the location.
- Communications Update
- 750 page views for the Website so far
- Council Discussion
Public Participation:
Dawn Rodriguez addressed Mayor and Council about her experience with the aftermath of the flooding. She stated that the City refuses to answer simple questions, but that she is seeing a lot of progress and she is confident that people are listening.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Rodriguez if she feels that the City is on a good track. Ms. Rodriguez stated that she feels that things are better than she expected and the town hall today was a complete 180 from her previous experience. Mayor Deasy stated that Ms. Rodriguez is a big part of keeping the momentum going.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Langley if it is possible to create a video that talks about what Ms. Leid presented on and the future work of the project. Ms. Langley stated that staff can work on a video like that. She added that staff discussed adding to the newsletter the initial findings of the feasibility study.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Leid about the modeling if there is anything that the model can tell us about peak flow and at what point will the infrastructure be able to handle anything that is thrown at us. Ms. Leid clarified that the question was about recovery of the watershed and then replied that they have had specialists from University of Arizona address these questions. Mr. Schenk stated that this is not an easily answered question. There was a bit of recovery after the fire in 2019 and what is really difficult in modeling is determining climate conditions. For example, in 2020 there was a lot of tree and ground cover mortality. Mr. Tessler addressed the recovery of the watershed as well and the difficulty of modeling the recovery. Long-term prognosis is that the watershed will be compromised for years.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked Ms. Langley if there were any plans for community meetings. Ms. Langley stated that staff is planning to meet with Coconino County to discuss what the effort would look like for next monsoon season with larger scale community meetings. For flood mitigation, staff feels that the current channels are working well.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about sandbags and that residents need lead time on them. Mr. Overton stated that the engineering teams talk about it often and are in agreement that the short-term mitigation efforts will need to stay in place. He spoke about the production and the effort for sandbags. Vice Mayor Daggett asked about Spruce Wash behind residences on Grand View and if it is scheduled to be dredged. Mr. Schenk stated that there are a few areas that still need sediment removal. There is not currently a dredge planned and that he does not see any improvements planned since it would not provide much relief at this time.
Vice Mayor Daggett asked about the oversight of contractors and evaluation of effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Mr. Overton explained the oversight and how the contactors are held to the standards. Mr. Tessler asked Vice Mayor if she is referring to long-term or short-term mitigation. Vice Mayor Daggett explained that she is referring to the short-term mitigation occurring now and asked about the process for overseeing all of that and what the County is doing to evaluate the effectiveness. Mr. Tessler stated that different areas have been assigned to different engineering groups and that they evaluate the effectiveness of the mitigations when there is a flooding event. There is City staff and County staff as well as engineering consultants who get out when it is safe and take videos of the mitigation. The work is variable because of the flow of sediment and the work is very dynamic. The work is done by boots on the ground and modeling in conjunction to create more and refined mitigation strategies.
Councilmember McCarthy asked Ms. Leid about the modeling and the assumed flow rate. Ms. Leid stated that they maximize the capacity of the culvert and how much that it can convey. In comparison to what was seen this summer, it was in range. There are no flow gauges out there, but we know that we are pretty close to that. Councilmember McCarthy spoke about the different flow rates in the different areas of the flows. Ms. Leid addressed a question from Councilmember Shimoni about the West Street Wash that connects to First Street. The investment made in the Killip Detention Basin will help that and will allow the water to flow more slowly.
Councilmember Shimoni asked if there might be a decline in flow rate in five or so years. Mr. Bertelsen referenced the Schultz Fire scar. He addressed the work that is being done and that even with mitigation there will be a long healing process that staff cannot predict what will happen. He added that the interventions being made will be helpful.
Councilmember Shimoni asked Ms. Langley if there could be a shortcut added to the City homepage for Museum Flood Mitigation efforts. Ms. Langley stated that the emergency alert has been reserved for active emergencies and that they will be adding that closer to the summer and that staff will determine a good link area for now. Councilmember Shimoni thanked the City Manager for his work on this. City Manager Clifton stated that the project has been a team effort and has been very collaborative.
7.
Public Participation
None.
8.
Informational Items To/From Mayor, Council, and City Manager; future agenda item requests
City Manager Greg Clifton addressed Mayor and Council regarding the recruitment and retention issues and the difficulties with staff time regarding Council requests.
Councilmember Shimoni mentioned MetroPlan and welcoming ADOT. He thanked the snowplow operations. He stated the Flagstaff High School Women’s Team is in semi-finals. He delved into the Strong Towns movement and suggested everyone watches their YouTube videos. He also shared their upcoming live event. He spoke about the County’s COVID-19 update and addressed the NACET campus tour on Monday. He addressed the Water meeting this Friday and congratulated Economic Vitality Director Heidi Hansen for being designated the Interim Deputy City Manager.
Councilmember Salas thanked City and County staff for the snow operations. She added that it is Arizona Beer Week. She requested a FAIR item to bring back the city-owned property on Schultz Pass and to resume the original intent of developing the parcel for work-force housing.
Councilmember McCarthy addressed the State Transportation Board and thanked the Councilmembers who showed up as well as the partners. He stated that he is supportive of Councilmember Salas’s FAIR request to have a discussion on the parcel.
Councilmember Aslan mentioned the monthly Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Committee meeting that will be held later that week.
Councilmember Shimoni mentioned MetroPlan and welcoming ADOT. He thanked the snowplow operations. He stated the Flagstaff High School Women’s Team is in semi-finals. He delved into the Strong Towns movement and suggested everyone watches their YouTube videos. He also shared their upcoming live event. He spoke about the County’s COVID-19 update and addressed the NACET campus tour on Monday. He addressed the Water meeting this Friday and congratulated Economic Vitality Director Heidi Hansen for being designated the Interim Deputy City Manager.
Councilmember Salas thanked City and County staff for the snow operations. She added that it is Arizona Beer Week. She requested a FAIR item to bring back the city-owned property on Schultz Pass and to resume the original intent of developing the parcel for work-force housing.
Councilmember McCarthy addressed the State Transportation Board and thanked the Councilmembers who showed up as well as the partners. He stated that he is supportive of Councilmember Salas’s FAIR request to have a discussion on the parcel.
Councilmember Aslan mentioned the monthly Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Committee meeting that will be held later that week.
9.
Adjournment
The Work Session of the Flagstaff City Council held February 22, 2022, adjourned at 4:50 p.m.
_____________________________________ MAYOR |
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| ATTEST: |
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_____________________________________ CITY CLERK |