Mayor Nabours called the Work Session of the Flagstaff City Council held June 9, 2015, to order at 6:02 p.m.

Emily Davalos, Flagstaff, addressed the Council stating that she was astounded at what she witnessed last week and now there was racist hate mail being sent. She said that the changes made by Councilmember Putzova were the only ones that made sense.

Comprehensive Planning Manager Sara Dechter addressed the Council and provided a PowerPoint presentation which addressed the following:

♦TIMELINE
♦WHAT WAS CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE?
♦WHAT IS THE CONTENT OF THE PLAN?
              Chapters 1) site and area analysis
                              2) concept plan
                              3) goals and policy recommendations
                              4) implementation Plan
♦LAND USE – ZONING
            Current Zoning   split between Commercial and Low/High density residential
♦LAND USE – FRP30
♦LAND USE POLICY AREAS
            Goal 6.N Neigborhood Core
            Goal 6.T Transition Area
            Goal 6.C Commercial Edge
♦LAND USE GOALS AND POLICIES
♦HISTORIC IDENTITY
            Preserve and Enhance Existing Housing Stock
            Preserve Historic Structures and Landmarks
            Develop Gateways
♦TRANSPORTATION
            Clay Avenue Extension
♦CLAY AVENUE EXTENSION
♦CONCEPT PLAN
            Concept Map 1: Land Use
            By fall hope to have more info – from FMPO – studying
♦3D VISUALIZATION   Illustration #4
            Illustration #6, #2, #3
            None of these sketches indicate any type of approval        
♦ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
♦NEIGHBORHOOD CHALLENGES
            Existing Entitlements
            Clay Avenue Extension
            Arrowhead Village Mobile Home Park
            Housing Occupancy - currently 6% owner occupied
            Nonconforming Uses
 ♦QUESTIONS

Ms. Dechter said that the boundary of the area was established during the prior planning efforts led by Kim Sharp. She said that the railroad tracks were not always fenced and families owned homes on both sides and they did not have the train volume at that time.

Mayor Nabours asked if the businesses included in the commercial edge were contacted. Ms. Dechter said that she was not sure she could answer that. Since they started this process back up recently they have sent out mailers to every property owner and fliers to the businesses, and they went door to door, encouraging them to be involved in the process.

Mayor Nabours asked if there was any discussion about the dilapidated building ordinance since there were some buildings in the area that are uninhabitable. Mr. Eastman said that with regard to abatement of those buildings, the building official enforces subject to the standards in that code. Many of the buildings have been boarded up; others they have not as they have not received complaints. From talking to Laura Meyers and other residents they are concerned and would like them removed or rehabilitated.

Mayor Nabours asked if the plan included any design review of new buildings. Ms. Dechter said that the plan cannot change the current design standards without further action by Council. They could bring that forward in an overlay district and the details of what that would include could be a number of things.

Councilmember Brewster said that the area is bisected by the railroad track and asked if there were any plans for residents to access those areas back and forth. Ms. Dechter said that there is currently a plan and programmed project that would connect Florence with a ten foot high tunnel to allow for bikes and pedestrians. She said that BNSF has a lot of illegal trespass into the park north of the tracks and the fences are always down. This is a proposal to provide access to connect these two parts.

Councilmember Overton said that in looking at the implementation strategies he noticed two distinct areas--private parcels where the City has little control without working with the property owners, and then those that the City has control over. To make the biggest impact they could encourage those private property owners. He asked what easy things the City could do to help kick off the improvements. Ms. Dechter said that there are things in the street scapes that could be done, such as providing space for a planting strip and provide mechanisms to help do some reinvestment in the parks. She said that when they were doing the renovations in the Old Spring Park they found footprints for a saloon and commercial strip. The neighborhood would like to find a partnership with museums and NAU to do a good job in gathering that information.

Ms. Dechter said that this document could be a tool in the Capital Improvements Plan and budgeting process. This will be the first one to come online in awhile.

Jesse Dominguez said that he was excited now; it has been a long time. He said that he serves as President of the La Plaza Vieja Neighborhood Association and represented them. This afternoon a letter was hand delivered to the Mayor and Council, and he read the letter into the record, attached hereto as Exhibit A.

He said that they support no boundary change to the neighborhood, but they do not support the Clay Avenue Extension. He said that they feel that the McCracken connection would be better since the playground is on the southside of Clay Avenue.

Moran Henn, representing Friends of Flagstaff's Future, said that they were in support of the plan as reviewed and adopted and supports the neighborhood plan that allows them to communicate their needs.

Adam Shimoni, Flagstaff, said that they went through a hard time, but he was pleased with the work they are doing today and knows that the intentions have been good. He would like to see the Council push for more neighborhoods to put plans together.

Councilmember Evans said that she was happy to see this document before them, but she did not think it was ready to be approved. There are still issues to be worked out and she was interested in understanding what happens when it is approved and how it will be used. She said that one of the areas of concern is the Clay Avenue Extension and she was happy to see an alternative. She said that the issue of parking needs to be addressed as well as the aging infrastructure. She said that they need to have a separate plan that talks about the Arrowhead Trailer Park and a true revitalization of the park. She said that the neighborhood association has been asking for assistance for years with regard to homeownership and she would like to see CDBG funds designated for that purpose. She said that she would like to see a plan adopted by the end of the year.

Ms. Dechter said that the Planning and Zoning Commission had a work session on the working draft and they are currently in their 60-day comment period. She has sent the plan to all of the utility companies, the County, two state departments, and it has been posted on the websites. She sent out another postcard and a trifold with more information. They will have another neighborhood meeting for input and hope to receive a lot of feedback about this by July 27. Then it would go before Planning and Zoning Commission for another work session, after which there are two public hearings and one public hearing with the Council. It is possible they could have it to Council by October, perhaps November or December.

Ms. Dechter then gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Annual Report of the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2014 which addressed:

♦MEASURE PROGRESS
♦REPORT ON FRP30 ACTIVITIES
♦IDENTIFY PLAN AMENDMENTS
♦NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
♦WHAT’S MISSING
♦BUILT ENVIRONMENT
♦EXISTING DISTRIBUTION OF ZONING CATEGORIES BY PLACE TYPE
            Outside Activity Center vs. In Activity Centers
            Commercial – fairly balanced
            Industrial, Public/OS Residential – little in activity center
♦WHAT’S MISSING?
            Heritage resources
            100-year water demand studies per project
            Connectivity of roadways
♦HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
♦CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORTS
♦PROPOSED PLAN AMENDMENTS
            Task #1: Table of Major and Minor amendments (2015-16)
            Task #2: Map 25 Major Plan Amendment (2015)
            Task #3: Clarify the use of terminology “Great Streets” and “corridors” (2016)
            Task #4: Clarify terms and descriptive information in the Land Use Chapter (2016)
            Task #5: Non-substantive editing errors (2016-17)
♦STAFF DIRECTION REQUESTED
            Would you like something different in next year’s report?
            What missing metrics should we prioritize for next year’s report?
            Feedback on the proposed amendments – strategy or content

On request, Ms. Dechter said that the population indicated came from the recent DES numbers.

Vice Mayor Barotz said that one statistic she would like to see is how many Regional Plan Amendments came through the process, what they were and what the outcome was.

Councilmember Putzova said that she would like to see some trend data--identifying the policy decisions made that may contribute to those trends. She said that she would also like to see the information online in a dashboard format, understanding that it requires funding. 

Councilmember Overton said that it would be nice to have a way to identify or monitor as projects start using this document, to capture those things that went well or things that could be modified to make it work better.

Mayor Nabours suggested that the tasks listed be brought back to the Council one at a time.

Sustainability Specialist Tamara Lawless gave a PowerPoint Presentation which addressed:
 
♦OVERVIEW
            Review background information
            Review current resiliency projects
            Garner Council direction
 
♦BACKGROUND INFORMATION
            Climate projections for the Flagstaff area
                        Changing precipitation patterns
            COF Resiliency and Preparedness Study – 2012
                        Participants from City, County, National Weather Service
                        Assessed key components of government for vulnerability and risk
 
♦RESOLUTION 2012-22
            Policy 1 – Built partnerships with local/regional stakeholders
            Policy 2 – Consider impacts of weather on vulnerable populations
            Policy 3 – Institutionalize resiliency within City operations
            Policy 4 – Take weather extremes into City development planning
            Policy 5 – Prioritize resilience education within City operations
            Policy 6 – Develop comprehensive criteria into planning efforts
            Policy 7 – Allocate municipal resources to building adaptation
 
♦COUNCIL PRIORITIES AND REGIONAL PLAN POLICIES
            Council Goal 11
            Regional Plan Policies
 
♦FOREST MANAGEMENT – FWPP
            Approved by voters in November 2012
            Fosters resiliency through reducing threat of severe fire and post-fire flooding
            Update on current progress
 
At this time, Ms. Lawless asked Malcolm Alter to come forward as one of the City’s Champions of the Resiliency Program.
 
Stormwater Manager Malcolm Alter continued the PowerPoint presentation:
 
♦STORMWATER & UTILITIES
            FEMA Grant
            Projects to increase active and passive rainwater capture in community
            Increase resiliency and preparedness by reducing community flooding, preserving
                 functionality of wastewater treatment plants and conserving community water
                 resources
 
Vice Mayor Barotz said that she appreciated the mention of rainwater harvesting as she has not heard any feedback. Mr. Alter said that there was a disincentive to do it which led most to go away from the thirsty plans, which was one of the motives they had.
 
The next Champion to speak was Adam Miele, Public Works Project Manager, who continued the presentation:
 
♦ASPHALT INNOVATIONS – ADAM MIELE
            Freeze-thaw cycles have a detrimental impact on the integrity of asphalt projects
            Innovations in asphalt composition may improve the longevity of our roads,
                  conserving natural and fiscal resources
                        Potential additives: fibers, rubber
                        Portland cement vs. hydrated lime
            2016 construction season may incorporate pilot projects
 
Mayor Nabours said that over the last few years they have been using the millings from street overlays to pave some of the dirt roads, and he asked how that was working. Mr. Miele said that it worked well. They have recycled those millings, which have a higher “R” value, and are stronger than traditional base material. As they remove that material they are creating new surfaces which hold up well and that also reduces the amount removed from pits. They have also been using it for shoulder build-up.
 
Councilmember Brewster talked about the newer type of roads constructed, and their use of more rubberized asphalt, which produces less road roar. Mr. Miele said that they were using that a lot more in the overlay program. He said that they were not using it for that purpose but it was an added benefit.
 
Mr. Miele noted that Flagstaff has the highest freeze-thaw cycles in the country, with Boston coming in a close second.
 
At this time, Police Chief Kevin Treadway continued the presentation, as the final Champion:
 
♦POLICE DEPARTMENT
            Officers are often first responders in climatic events like flood and fires
            Increased fire prevention outreach and action
 
♦PROJECTED RESILIENCY WORK
            Workshops with key staff from each department
            Importance of strong leadership
            Discussion: How to support resilience and preparedness in this organization and
                community into the future
 
Vice Mayor Barotz said that one thing that occurred to her in looking through the information was she would like to see something about the City’s water supply in the face of these weather events. Ms. Lawless said that they did a workshop with the Utilities department and there is a lot of room to discuss that issue.
 
Vice Mayor Barotz said that she appreciated the report as it was very important and very relevant.
 
Mayor Nabours asked if staff also works with the gas company, APS, etc, or if they have their own plans. Ms. Lawless said that when they have their big meetings of collaborators, the utilities are normally involved. She said that she would assume they will be at the table with the COOP.
 
Councilmember Brewster said that it reminded her of months ago when the fiber optic line went down, and she asked if part of their plan involved the private companies. Ms. Lawless said that they were very vulnerable when that happened and they will make sure that the communication companies are at the table.
 
Ms. Lawless asked how else the Council would like to be involved in this program. Councilmember Brewster suggested that when they hold these emergency planning meetings, that they invite the Council.
 
Councilmember Putzova said that she appreciated the report; it was very valuable for them to understand the context. She said that she would be interested in getting more information with regard to prioritization of resources so that by the time the next budget discussion comes, everything is settled. She would like to know staff’s thoughts on where they should invest their resources to avoid costs down the road. Ms. Lawless said that she would be happy to put together a report with ideas and related costs.
 
Councilmember Evans said that the concept of resiliency is abstract when talking to individuals. It is complicated and diverse. She asked how they can make themselves more resilient, with short information statements and perhaps a spot on the city’s website with weekly updates, tips, etc. She said that if they are going to have meetings covering different topics perhaps they should videotape it and post it for the public.
 
The Council then took a break from 7:57 p.m. to 8:05 p.m.

Sgt. Matt Wright with the Flagstaff Police Department gave a PowerPoint presentation, Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof, which addressed:
 
♦TYPES OF LICENSES
            Non-Quota license – not available for sale on the open market
            Quota license – issued by lottery – only have so many allotted per county based on
                 population
♦LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION PROCESS
♦CONSIDERATIONS BY CITY COUNCIL
♦NORTHSIDE & SOUTHSIDE
♦LIQUOR LICENSES BY TYPES
 
Councilmember Evans said that 32% of the City’s liquor licenses are in downtown, including retail, convenience, etc. She asked what percentage it would be if they backed out the retail and convenience. Sgt. Wright said that he did not have the number in front of him but could get it to the Council.
 
♦2015 TOTALS
♦2013 VS. 2015
♦SATURATION PATROL
 
Councilmember Evans asked what the cost of resources were compared to other areas in town. Sgt. Wright said that from the patrol force’s perspective, they actually like having all of the bars in one area as it is easier to patrol.
 
Chief Treadway said that occasionally they will bring in officers on holiday weekends and the first few weeks of school and the few weeks before school gets out. He said that it is granted-funded overtime that handles that extra patrol.
 
Councilmember Evans said that she had not heard of the patrol force’s perspective before and was concerned that perhaps the businesses downtown should be addressing the extra costs rather than all of the residents.
 
FDBA Director Terry Madeksza address the Council stating that there is an emerging entertainment scene downtown and some of those restaurants and bars have become destinations, attracting visitors and residents alike. She said that any downtown needs to have a healthy mix of business. The key is management, product and experience offered. She said that rather than regulate the number of licenses in the downtown area, they would like to have the DBA, Chamber, City, etc. work together to support the overall business climate.
 
Ms. Madeksza said that they will work with property owners to seek the best use of the space, not necessarily the first one willing to pay. She said that they can also work with the retailers downtown to help them evolve their business model. She said that sometimes retailers will forget to change their window displays, etc. and by making the pedestrian experience better would probably draw more people in.
 
Mayor Nabours thanked Ms. Madeksza for attending the meeting and addressing the issue. He asked her if it was to be left to the downtown property owners or if the City had a role. Ms. Madeksza said that the City’s role is to review the applications that come before them and make recommendations, but she did not think there needs to be a cap put on the number of licenses. She said that in order to be the best downtown, they need to bring the different resources and talented staff together and be proactive with the business community.
 
Mayor Nabours asked Ms. Madeksza if she thought it could swing too far. He said that he would hate to see the downtown become a place where no one wants to go unless they are drinking. Ms. Madeksza said that was exactly why she was in Flagstaff.
 
Councilmember Evans thanked her for coming as well and agreed that they needed to have a vibrant downtown. She said that they also need to be mindful of the people that do not live in the downtown area, but just outside, as they are impacted as well.
 
Brief discussion was held on the verification of restaurants and meeting the 60/40 rule. She said that she heard there is one liquor control officer for the entire northern part of the state. She said that there has to be a different way for the bars to report things such as fake id’s. She believed that discouraged bars from calling in.
 
Ms. Madeksza said that she has lived on the corner of San Francisco and Aspen for the past three months and she can tell them what is happening downtown at 2:00 in the morning. She said that there is a true night time economy happening, but she does not know that the story is being defined and told. She said that it is not just students. People are spending money in the restaurants that stay open until 3:00 a.m. She wondered if there was a way to keep people downtown instead of having them roaming the streets, perhaps a better management of their exiting and control of the process.
 
Councilmember Evans said that if someone lives at the corner of San Francisco and Aspen, they can assume they are going to be woken up at 2:00 a.m. The issue is around Verde and Franklin, outside of the downtown area, but still being impacted.
  
Stuart McDaniel, representing the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, said that he echoed a lot of the comments previously made. They are against any arbitrary limit on the number of licenses for many of the same reasons.
 
Mayor Nabours asked, if there were eight more bars downtown, if people are still going to want to bring their kids down to the Movies on the Square. Mr. McDaniel said that he would hope they could get eight other types of establishments as well.
 
Councilmember Overton said that the Mayor brings up a valid concern. The only oversight the community has is at the recommending body. He said that if the Chamber’s position changes in the future they need to come to the public hearings and voice their concerns.
 
Councilmember Evans said that they talk a lot about the free market. She asked what the Chamber thinks about the quality of life issues related to the liquor licenses. She would like to see that get into the conversation at some point. She said that it is great to talk about economic development, but she asked how they can ensure that they will maintain the quality of life.
 
Mr. McDaniel said that he completely agreed with Councilmember Evans. The responsibility is there and it is a critical element in everything they do. They are all charged to be good stewards and good neighbors.
 
Councilmember Brewster said that she agreed with both sides. Mr. McDaniel said that they have a nice mix right now. If it becomes oversaturated, they will be before the Council.
 
Mayor Nabours said that he wanted the word to go out that there may be a time where they hit that tipping point, and let the landlords consider that before they invest several thousand dollars, that it may not get approved.

Ms. Burke briefly reviewed the process, noting that the resolution before the Council included wording on the six questions which Council had directed staff to bring forward.
 
Ms. D’Andrea reviewed the two personnel questions, explaining that currently the Personnel Rules and Regulations are adopted by the City Council, which is not entirely consistent with the Council/Manager form of government. The one question would turn over the establishment of the Personnel Rules and Regulations to the City Manager and the other question would include an exception that provides the Council with the ability to still have oversight on the due process for employees.
 
On question from Councilmember Overton, Ms. D’Andrea explained that there are different types of employees—those appointed by the Council directly, those that salary but do not report to Council and they still have due process right of appeal with a Deputy City Manager or City Manager, and then there are the other hourly employees, who have made it through their probationary period, and they have the right to go before a Personnel Board. 
 
She said that if Council does not want to have Question No. 2 proceed, or the citizens vote against it, then the City Manager could establish those rules as well, but if Council would like to hold on to the ability to determine the due process, they would want to move Question No. 2 forward.
 
Mayor Nabours said that the discussion previously started with how they felt about these questions, rather than whether they should be moved forward to allow the voters to determine the outcome. An example being that Councilmember Overton had a personal opinion on the purchasing contracts, and he happens to agree, but perhaps they should allow the voters to determine that issue.
 
Councilmember Putzova said that she has still not heard what the arguments are for changing the Charter. Councilmember Evans agreed. She said that if they were going to follow the Mayor’s logic, they would forward the entire list to the voters.
 
Ms. Burke explained that the list previously brought back to Council included the arguments on both sides of each of the questions. It was not staff’s place to make the arguments; the intent of the public outreach was to receive comments from the public.
 
Councilmember Putzova said that she was bothered by the entire process. Tonight they were discussing this after they had previously given direction on which questions to bring forward, and there was nothing included in the agenda packet to allow the public to know they would be discussing this. She said that these were very political questions.
 
Councilmember Evans said that she was very upset with what was going on this evening. She felt that last time they discussed this they gave staff direction; now they are being told that their personal opinions should be taken out of it. She said that she did not have the original list but she knew that districts were on the list. If they are moving these other items forward, they should just move everything forward from the original list. She did not feel the process this evening was transparent and it was disingenuous.
 
Ms. Burke explained that the Committee sent forward to the City Manager a list of 30 questions, with a recommendation to take the top 20 to the voters. The City Manager then added a few questions of his own and brought everything back to the Council; Districts did not make the top 20 list.
 
Mayor Nabours said that he brought this issue up because he does not want to wait until next week and have amendments to questions being made. By discussion it this evening they could provide further direction to staff if needed so it could be decided next week.
 
Councilmember Evans said that if they were going to be bringing back additional questions, they need to allow the Council to vote on them separately, because she would not support the additional questions.
 
Vice Mayor Barotz said that she was struggling with the notion of not considering personal opinion. If they are going to argue that, then they should send all 15 of these questions, although she did not support that.
 
Councilmember Putzova requested that next week’s presentation include an over view of the entire process, including the committee application process and a complete list of the 30 questions.
 
Mr. Meilbeck said that last week he had asked staff to put the entire list back into the packet. It was not clear to him that the six questions presented were the final list.
 
Ms. D’Andrea said that they have drafted the six questions as directed; the rest they have not. She would assume that if Council wanted to direct further questions to be considered that they would go on a future ballot. Mayor Nabours said that it was his understanding that they had until the first meeting in July to adopt the final language for the ballot, so that would allow a little more time for Legal to prepare ballot language.

The Work Session of the Flagstaff City Council held June 9, 2015, adjourned at 9:35 p.m.