Mayor Evans called the Legislative Trip meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.

Others present: City Manager Josh Copley and City Attorney Sterling Solomon.

Council members and staff met at 5:00 a.m. at Flagstaff City Hall and traveled to Phoenix. Councilmember McCarthy drove separately.

At 8:00 a.m. Council (other than Councilmember McCarthy) met with Scott Omer, Deputy Director of Operations with Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

Outcome of the discussion included:

ADOT will assist the City with any questions about the process and design of the Dark Skies license plate once the legislature approves Representative Thorpe’s bill. The City must pay an initial fee of $32,000. The design must be legible to law enforcement. A representative from ADOT will work with the City throughout the process. Staff will be contacting the Dark Skies Coalition to provide an update.
 
ADOT discussed the HURF Swap Program and the funds available to cities, FMPO’s and COG’s. $17 million may be available this upcoming fiscal year. These funds accelerate the ability to develop projects.
 
ADOT wants to develop stronger relationships with the airport manager and FBO and requested an introduction from City staff. ADOT would like to hold periodic meetings at the Flagstaff airport when discussing state aviation funds.

At 9:00 a.m. Councilmember McCarthy arrived and Council members met with Representatives Rebecca, Rios, Randal Friese and Charlene Fernandez.

Representative Randal Friese asked the City of Flagstaff to support his Bill for bump stock bans through a resolution or letter. Staff will provide his letter to Council. The Representatives asked Flagstaff to consider altering our Intergovernmental Priority from Gun Control to Gun Safety. The group was interested in being involved in future conversations with consulate cards. The Representatives were interested in what other states offer consulate cards. Staff will coordinate a future meeting with the Representatives and the Mexican Consulate General.

At 10:30 a.m. Council met with Jeffery Trillo, Assistant Director of Licensing and Administration with Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC).

Staff from the DLLC discussed the process for liquor license approval. Three groups can petition: the local governing body, citizens, and the DLLC. A petition by the local governing body triggers a review by the DLLC. The local governing body can ask the DLLC to petition with the City. Council shared that they represent the citizens and it is unfair for citizens to have to travel to Phoenix after petitioning to their elected Councilmembers. The Director recommended that citizens write letters. Council asked that the Board meet locally if a denial is to again occur. The Director stated that the Board has discussed having hearings locally. He also mentioned that letters and information provided by those petitioning is distributed to every board member and they take the time to review it.

Hearings only occur if there is a protest. The DLLC relies on the local governing body for temporary and permanent extensions. The Department operates by statues and changes in statutes and operations would have to go through the legislators. If the local governing body denies the application, the applicant has 15 days to protest to the DLLC. After, a 35 day public notice must be given prior to the Board hearing.

If Council denies a future application, staff will request the meeting be held locally by the DLLC Board (Michael Toryan Board Chair determines schedule), gather letters from citizens and possibly utilize video conferencing if the Board is unable to meet locally. Council requested the recording from the meeting that the DLLC Board approved the application which the City Council denied. Council would like to get more local representatives on the DLLC Board (only 4/7 seats were filled for 3 year terms). City Council may be able to add a future Intergovernmental Priority to request that the DLLC Board provide a written explanation on why they approve licenses when the local governing board denies them.  

At 12:00 p.m. Council met at Arizona Department of Environment Quality (ADEQ) with Havasupai Councilmembers Carletta Tilousi and Ophelia Watahaomogie; Attorney Margaret Vick; Attorney Matt McReynolds; Trevor Baggiore, Water Quality Division Director; Amanda Stone, Chief Policy and Legislative Affairs Office; and David Dunaway, Groundwater Value Stream Manager.
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ADEQ staff stated that for them to place greater restrictions on uranium mines, the legislature would have to change its policies. They shared there are pros and cons to different aquifer permits. Some restrictions are stronger when using the general aquifer permit rather than the single use permit.  They shared that the Forest Service can make uranium mines do more robust monitoring. Havasupai Attorney stated that the Forest Service does monitor the mines and will share data they have received from the Forest Service with ADEQ.
 
Staff will contact Nature Conservancy, who Governor Ducey may have been a member of, to see if they will support stronger uranium regulations. Staff will also request to be added to the list for public notice for future mining claims in the region. ADEQ staff mentioned that mining permits are in perpetuity and do not expire unlike many of the other permits. A future legislative priority may be to ask legislators to pass a bill that puts an expiration on mining permits. Staff from ADEQ was open to holding a community forum locally to discuss its process and the restrictions mines must abide by.

At 2:00 p.m. Vice Mayor Whelan and Councilmember Odegaard met with Representative Bob Thorpe.

Representative Thorpe planned on submitting the Dark Skies license plate bill on Thursday, January 11, 2018. Representative Thorpe was going to speak with other communities including Graham County and Tucson who are also interested in Dark Skies. Representative Thorpe shared that he will be working on the following issues:
 

• Forest Health – Seeking funds to allow the forest department to reimburse local jurisdictions when they respond to federal and state emergencies until the federal government can provide reimbursement.
• ADOT - He is trying to get ADOT to increase hauling requirements and load capacity for trucks hauling lumber to make it more cost effective to transport to bio mass facilities.
• DPS – He is seeking funds for a remote office in Gray Mountain, passing legislation to ensure truck and other drivers to not impede the left lane and passing legislation that makes not wearing seat belts a primary violation.

Also at 2:00 p.m. Mayor Evans and Councilmember McCarthy met with Senator Sylvia Allen and discussed:

• Forest Health Funding
• Protection of VA Home Funds
• State Liquor Licensing
• Coconino Community College Funding

At 3:00 p.m. Council present met with J.D. Mesnard, Speaker of the House of Representatives and discussed:
 

• HURF Advocacy
• Protection of VA Home Funds
• Fully Fund Social Service Providers
• Protect State 911 Fund from Sweep

At 4:00 p.m. Council met at Arizona Department of Water Services (ADWR) with Dr. Thomas Buschatzke, Director, and Clint Chandler, Assistant Director for Water Planning and Permitting.

Council discussed the C & R aquifer and shared its appreciation for its relationship with ADWR. Council shared its support for updating the Water Adequacy Rule to include a new criteria for determining physical availability or the percent of groundwater in storage remaining in the aquifer after 100 years of project pumping be more restrictive than the current 50% proposal and increase to 75%.

The Legislative Trip adjourned at 5:00 p.m. at which time Councilmembers met for dinner and departure for Flagstaff, arriving back in Flagstaff at 8:00 p.m.