Others present:  City Manager Greg Clifton; City Attorney Sterling Solomon.

Joe Galli from the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce addressed Council and shared information about events at the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. He highlighted the December 14, 2019, Voya Holiday Light Parade which started at 6:00 p.m. downtown.

Miranda Sweet addressed Council regarding sales tax projections. She spoke of her experiences as a retailer and community member. She stated that the last year was difficult and that she then had the lowest number of employees ever. She stated that she also saw a shift in the demographics of her customers between locals and tourists. She stated that she was looking forward to the Locals Only campaign.

Scott Talboom introduced Councilmember Salas’ family who were visiting from the Philippines. Her family had been touring Northern Arizona, and Mr. Talboom addressed the beauty of Lowell Observatory.

Councilmember Whelan asked about Item 8A, ro purchase vehicles through the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF). She asked if purchasing vehicles qualified as a HURF “other expenses” line item. Public Works Director Andy Bertelsen addressed the HURF revenue and stated that they were tied to state gas tax. He added that there had been a lot of discussion on HURF revenues and how the state had diverted them over time. He stated that the purchase of vehicles was allowed if they were road maintenance vehicles.

Councilmember Whelan also asked for clarification regarding Item 8B and what budget year the funding was associated with. Mr. Bertelsen explained that the purchase was approved as part of the current budget.

Councilmember Salas asked about Item 15B. She wanted to know if the presentation would have an impact on the Save Schultz Meadow citizen initiative. Mr. Solomon stated that it would not.

Vice Mayor Shimoni asked about Item 15A and requested information about cinder removal and snow operations. Mr. Bertelsen stated that they would discuss the items at the meeting.

Vice Mayor Shimoni read and presented the proclamation.

Housing Director Sarah Darr stated that October was Housing Awareness Month and that Housing staff partnered with the recreation centers to have youth participate in a poster contest of “What Home Means to Me.” She shared that the poster winners would be forwarded to the state level and then to the national level to be placed in a calendar. Mayor Evans shared some of the stories behind the posters and presented each participant with a recognition award.

Public Works Director Andy Bertelsen introduced Solid Waste Section Director Todd Hanson and Sustainability Specialist Dylan Lenzen, who provided a presentation on the Rethink Waste Plan and the adoption of regulations for private waste hauling companies. The presentation covered the following:

• Outline
• Background – Existing Regulations
• Background – Challenges
• Application
• Licensing Fee
• Insurance Requirements
• Data Reporting Requirement
• Other Service Requirements
• Relationship to Council Goals 

Councilmember Whelan asked if the requirements expected from private operators would also be expected from the city. Mr. Hanson stated that the city would need to comply with its own rules. He added that when he was in private industry, those types of regulations were normal.
 
Vice Mayor Shimoni asked about commercial and multi-family properties, mentioning that 50 to 60% of the city's trash removal was handled by city operations. Mr. Hanson stated it was his best guess and that the city had about 2,200 business accounts. Vice Mayor Shimoni asked what percentage of commercial trash was getting service from private owners. Mr. Hanson stated that the city did not know how much trash the other services were collecting.
 
Councilmember Whelan asked about the transfer station. Mr. Hanson stated that it was a County station and he did not know how much longer it would be running.
           
Joe Galli addressed Council representing the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. He stated that the private haulers had not had a chance to vet the regulations and that the Chamber had some concerns about them since they added costs to the private haulers, especially when considering them as competition to the city’s hauler. Mr. Galli would like to see a Request for Proposal for residential service created.
 
Councilmember Aslan asked if Mr. Galli had spoken to the private haulers. Mr. Galli stated that he had spoken to them but he was not speaking on their behalf. Councilmember Aslan asked about data reporting and if Mr. Galli believed that the reporting was not relevant. Mr. Galli clarified that he was concerned about the added cost and that the data may not be as readily available as thought. He reminded the Council that the city was in competition with the private haulers and that perhaps if the city was not in the business, then the prices could be lowered for the consumers.
 
Vice Mayor Shimoni asked Mr. Galli how transferring the data would be complicated if all waste was weighed. Mr. Galli stated that he had heard that logistics for data reporting would be a concern.
 
Councilmember McCarthy commented that there was a problem with privatizing residential trash service if the private company decided to withdraw from the city and that caution should be used regarding the idea. He also asked Mr. Hanson about quantifying the trash collection. Mr. Hanson stated that the city would look at weight only and that the private haulers were already collecting that information.
 
Mayor Evans stated that Council could pull items off the list of things they were not interested in to ensure the meetings were more effective.

Mr. Hanson continued the presentation.

• Bolstering licensing and insurance requirements
• More robust vehicle inspection

The Council unanimously stated that they were in favor of bolstering licensing and insurance requirements. 

Councilmember Salas asked if the Moter Vehicle Department was doing inspections and OHSA compliance. Mr. Hanson stated that there were no emission tests in the Flagstaff area, but there were safety checks, though it was not specific to solid waste vehicles.

The Council supported the creation of more robust vehicle inspections.

Mr. Hanson continued the presentation.

• Develop a plan for accepted materials
• Licensing Fee: per vehicle per year
• Reporting
• Other options: Colors match City 

Councilmember McCarthy asked if the recycling bins were blue. Mr. Hanson stated that they were not yet all blue for commercial use. Councilmember McCarthy expressed a desire to have consistent signage for recycling and trash bins.

Council requested that staff return with an update before anything was privatized.

Deputy City Manager Shannon Anderson addressed Council with Interim HR Director Alison Eckert. They provided background on the current code and the updates that were done in 2017. There were proposed changes in 2018 that were not supported by Council at that time. Staff was seeking direction from Council on whether to reconvene the commission, make any changes to the membership of the commission, and possible areas of focus.

Mayor Evans stated that the current salaries do not provide a livable wage for Council or the full-time position of Mayor. The Council should be paid fairly and at a rate that is comparable to the duties of the position. She stated that she would like to have the commission reconvene as soon as possible and she suggested that the commission be provided with the calendars of the Mayor and Councilmembers to understand their duties and workload. She stated that serving on the Council should be accessible to anyone who may wish to serve.

Vice Mayor Shimoni stated that it was a very pressing issue and he was supportive of reconvening the commission. He suggested that the commission look at the Vice Mayor's role separately from the rest of Council. He also wanted to ensure that everyone had the ability to serve.

Anthony Garcia addressed Council and stated that he participated in the last commission. He suggested that the process could be refined and added that he would like to be considered for the next commission.

Mayor Evans recommended that the commission consider other council salaries in Arizona, the workload of Councilmembers, and what a typical work week looked like.

Councilmember McCarthy suggested that the commission should include human resources professionals and that he thought seven commissioner was appropriate.

Councilmember Odegaard expressed his support to move forward with reconvening the commission.

Council supported a commission comprised of nin members that included two human resource professionals and two at-large members. 

A break was held from 8:11 p.m. through 8:22 p.m.

Current Planning Manager Tiffany Antol stated that duplexes and triplexes were allowed in residential zones. She stated that the difference between zones was the acreage and added that accessory dwelling units were incentivized.

Councilmember Whelan asked if there were requirements regarding square footage or lot size. Ms. Antol replied that there were requirements for both and that there was a lot of flexibility in the requirements.

Councilmember Odegaard stated that there were suggestions in the staff summary to increase the number of units allowed per acre.

The Council supported advancing the topic to a future agenda for discussion and possible action.

None. 

Councilmember Salas thanked Council for welcoming her family.
 
Councilmember Odegaard stated that he had been in Baltimore, Maryland for a downtown conference to learn about making downtown areas more robust.

Councilmember Aslan stated that he attended the Sustainability Commission meeting where they had a meeting with Dr. Daniel Akoli. He added that NAU was in the process of adapting its own Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. He stated that the Open Space Commission was working with the Parks and Recreation Commission regarding a potential bond request. He added that there were some questions at the meeting regarding e-bikes, the FUTS system, and open spaces. He also said that there was a new website being developed regarding city-owned parcels.

Councilmember McCarthy reported that he attended the Sustainability Commission meeting where they discussed raising the Sustainability Section to another level. He stated that the discussion would be presented to Council on January 28, 2020.

Councilmember Whelan requested a clean energy update and discussion for a future agenda. She stated that she and the Mayor attended the NACOG meeting in Pinetop where they discussed the determination and direction of Head Start. She and the Mayor also visited Show Low where they house one of the largest grow operations in the country. She stated that the company produced medical marijuana and she would like to possibly explore a grow operation at Red Gap Ranch.

Vice Mayor Shimoni shared that he and Councilmember McCarthy went to Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy to be interviewed by their media team and carved pumpkins with the students. He added that the Stronger as One meeting at Coconino Community College was a wonderful event and he complimented Councilmember Whelan on her work with the program. He requested information on Tequila Sunrise and what the City had done regarding the event in the past. He spoke about the Coconino County Youth Coalition event for Self-Healing Communities.

Mayor Evans stated that the community was confused by zoning versus building codes and she would like to partner with a local developer to help address the issue. She suggested a public forum outside of regular Council meetings or a Building Code 101 class to discuss zoning and building matters. She indicated that the Chamber could be a good partner. Mr. Clifton stated that staff would work on creating a forum on the issue that there was a joint meeting with the Chamber coming up and that it could be a possible agenda item.

Mayor Evans also stated that Head Start was going to close the Codgill Head Start site. She added that there were no windows in the facility and that she wanted to see if the city could put windows in the preschool area. She suggested that the city put out an RFP for a cooperative preschool, another Head Start program, or another childcare provider. She suggested Launch Flagstaff.

Mayor Evans stated that she had been interviewed by a student at NAU about the party ordinance. She informed the student that the parties were breaking several codes and the police responded to parties within the context of the noise ordinance.