I. CALL TO ORDER NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING Minutes of the March 28, 2017 Regular Council Meeting A. Call to order Mayor T Sikes called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm B. Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor T Sikes C. Invocation was given by Fred Hull I. ROLL CALL Mayor Tommy Sikes Vice-Mayor Chris Riggs Council Member Fernando Fernandez Council Member Clyde Kreeger -Absent Council Member Chuck Turner Council Member James Turner Council Member Bill Hollowell Staff present: Town Manager M Celaya; Town Clerk B Turner; Finance Director S Young; Community Services Director K Valenzuela; PWM D Morris; Town Planner T Suan; Fire Chief Fred Baldridge; G Faupel III. Presentation: Mark Reader and Associates of Stifel will present an overview of a possible municipal bond. Presentation and Discussion Town Manager M Celaya introduced Mark Reader of Stifel and Joe Blackenship. They gave brief presentations regarding municipal bonding and revenue generated by the Power Plant. Mr. Reader gave an overview of the Town's assessed valuation by property class. Recent numbers on valuations of the tax base along with changing variables in the power plant industry were covered. Mr. Reader remarked that a lot of the same information was covered during the past Town of Gila Bend Council retreat. Council Member C Turner asked about President s Trump s decisions regarding the electric industry. IV. CONSENT AGENDA (all items subject to approval by a single motion; any Council Member may require any of these items to be voted on separately) A. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action on the approval of the March 14, 2017 regular meeting minutes. Discussion and Action. B. Payment of Claims: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action to approve claims in the amount of $170,619.73 for the period of March 8, 2017 through March 23, 2017. Discussion and Action. Vice-Mayor C Riggs moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented; Seconded by Council Member J Turner. Motion to pass consent agenda as presented passed unanimously (6-0). Council Member C Turner moved to present the MCSO Report at this moment; Seconded by Vice-Mayor Riggs. Motion to move the MCSO Report to this moment passed unanimously (6-0). See Item IX. V. NEW BUSINESS Discussion and possibly action on the following items: A. Human Resource Policy Manual Update: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action to approve a proposal from Pierce Coleman PLLC for the express purpose of updating the Town of Gila Bend Human Resource Policy Manual in an amount not to exceed $6,500 and waive the procurement requirement pursuant to Town Code Title 3, Chapter 38, Section 38.06. Discussion and Action
Mayor T Sikes discussed that the Town of Gila Bend Human Resource Policy Manual has not been updated since 2006 and that it is timely to do so. Vice-Mayor C Riggs moved to approve a proposal from Pierce Coleman PLLC for the express purpose of updating the Town of Gila Bend Human Resource Policy Manual in an amount not to exceed $6,500 and waive the procurement requirement; Seconded by Council Member F Fernandez. Motion to approve a proposal from Pierce Coleman PLLC passed unanimously (6-0). B. Grant Application Gila River Indian Casino: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action to approve the submission of a grant application to the Gila River Indian Casino for a Powered Cot System. Discussion and Action Social Services Director clarified that all the Native American tribes that participate in Indian Gaming must disburse a certain amount in grants to local communities. Vice-Mayor C Riggs moved to approve the submission of a grant application to the Gila River Indian Casino for a Powered Cot System; Seconded by Council Member F Fernandez. Motion to approve the submission of a grant application to the Gila River Indian Casino passed unanimously (6-0). C. Grant Application APS/Phoenix Suns Rebound Project: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action to approve the submission of a grant application to APS/Phoenix Suns for the refurbishment of the basketball court located at Community Park. Discussion and Action Vice-Mayor C Riggs moved to approve the submission of a grant application to APS/Phoenix Suns for the refurbishment of the basketball court located at Community Park; Seconded by Council Member C Turner. Motion to approve the submission of a grant application to APS/Phoenix Suns passed unanimously (6-0). D. Award Architectural/Engineering Services for Community Center Expansion Project: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action to award the contract for Architectural/Engineering Services for the Community Center Expansion Project DG#1602 to Nicklaus Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $23,827.00. Discussion and Action Council Member C Turner moved to award the contract for Architectural/Engineering Services for the Community Center Expansion Project DG#1602 to Nicklaus Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $23,827.00; Seconded by Council Member F Fernandez. Motion to award the contract for Architectural/Engineering Services for the Community Center Expansion Project DG#1602 to Nicklaus Engineering, Inc. passed unanimously (6-0). E. Property Sale: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action to award the bid for the sale of Town owned property located at 401 E Papago (Epiphany on the Desert Church. Discussion and Action Council Member F Fernandez moved to award the bid for the sale of Town owned property located at 401 E Papago (Epiphany on the Desert Church); Seconded by Council Member J Turner. Motion to award the bid for the sale of Town owned property located at 401 E Papago passed unanimously (6-0). F. Letter of Intent: The Mayor and Town Council may discuss and possibly take action
to authorize the issuance of a Letter of Intent for the purchase of property located on the north east corner of Scott Avenue and Pima Street (APN 403-11-028) in the amount of $50,000.00. Discussion and Action Council Member C Turner requested more details regarding the Letter of Intent for the purchase of property located on the north corner of Scott Avenue and Pima Street. Town Manager M Celaya advised that the previous item (Item E) would fund the purchase and clean-up. The cost of cleaning and removing asbestos totals about $24,000. The property value was estimated to rise up to $300,000 once cleaned up. Mr. Ron Henry spoke about the property s history and said he would hate to see that much money spent on that property. It was clarified, that the funds for the clean-up would come from the General Fund. Vice-Mayor moved to authorize the issuance of a Letter of Intent for the purchase of property located on the north east corner of Scott Avenue and Pima Street (APN 403-11-028) in the amount of $50,000.00 with the condition that the property located at 401 E Papago (Epiphany on the Desert Church) be sold first; Seconded by Council Member J Turner. Motion to authorize the issuance of a Letter of Intent for the purchase of property with the condition that the property located at 401 E Papago be sold first passed (4-2) with Council Members C Turner and B Hollowell voting Nay. VI. MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBER S REPORT ON CURRENT EVENTS (This is the time Council Member s may present a brief summary on current events. The Council Member F Fernandez reported that President Trump wants to cut back on CDBG and TIGER Discretionary Grant monies. He added that we need to keep it closely monitored cuts of eighteen billion (18,000,000,000) are at stake. Mayor Sikes expressed appreciation for the hard work from the volunteers and Town crews during the recent Green Day event. Council Member J Turner apologized for not participating; his secular employment presented a scheduling conflict. Nonetheless, he expressed thanks for a job well done. Council Member B Hollowell also remarked that the Green Day event was a success. Council Member C Turner expressed the same sentiments as Council Member B Hollowell. VII. TOWN MANAGER REPORT (This is the time the Town Manager may present a brief summary on current events. The Town Manager M Celaya reported on the Green Day beautification project expressing its purpose. It will be a featured event. He expressed special appreciation to Ron and Diane Henry. Hopefully, grants will be coming up with more in the next few months. Explained the point of view on grants: they are not a wish list but applicable to what the Town Council wants and what the Town of Gila Bend needs. He spoke about leveraging the grants. VIII. STAFF REPORTS (This is the time Staff Member s may present a brief summary on current events. The A. Parks & Recreation Director Krista Vandermolen will report on scheduled
events for April, May and June. Report Only Parks & Recreation K Vandermolen presented a report on the Green Day beautification project. She noted forty (40) volunteers participated. Also reported on April, May, and June events. B. Town Planner Tim Suan will report on the Town s current growth, future development and barriers facing the Town. Report Only Town Planner T Suan reported on the Green Day beautification project. Also reported on community enhancement projects with the Gila Bend High School. He presented a video of students who assisted with painting the park ramadas. Students were interviewed on camera and spoke about the benefits of beautifying the community and what it means to volunteer. IX. MSCO REPORT (This is the time MCSO may present a brief summary on current events. The Council may not propose, discuss, deliberate or take any legal action on the information MCSO Captain Brandimarte dispensed the monthly MCSO report. February was a relatively quiet month. Traffic citations have remained the same. Aggravated assault, domestic violence, and three (3) thefts were reported along with alcohol (beer) theft, a stolen vehicle, a death investigation, and two (2) welfare checks. MCSO Captain Brandimarte is being relocated to Fountain Hills. He expressesd his gratitude for serving the Town of Gila Bend, and introduced Captain David Tromboy as his replacement. X. CALL TO THE PUBLIC (The procedures to follow if you address the Council are: Council requests that you express your ideas in three minutes or less and refrain from any personal attacks or derogatory statements about any individual. The Mayor will limit discussion whenever he deems such an action appropriate to the proper conduct of the meeting. At the conclusion of an open call to the public, individual members of the Council may respond to criticism made by those who have addressed the Council, may ask Staff to review a matter, or may ask that a matter be put on a future agenda. However, members of the Council shall not discuss or take legal action on any matters during an open call to the public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action.) Diane Henry reminded the Town Council of the Red Cross blood drive next Friday, April 7, 2017 at the Gila Bend High School Gymnasium from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Mr. Fred Hull commented that he is excited to see positive things going on in the community and seeing things that started twenty-five (25) years ago finally coming to fruition. Mayor T Sikes mentioned that Gila Bend was featured in the recent edition of Arizona Highways. Council Member F Fernandez spoke about disabled children stopping in Gila Bend. XI. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS (This is the time Council Member s may request items be placed on future agenda s) Council Member C Turner requested a report on the financials. Council Member B Hollowell requested information on the Department of Public Safety (DPS) compound closure. XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pursuant to A.R.S. 38-431.03(A)(3) for purpose of obtaining legal advice relative for any of the above agenda items. Discussion and Action
XIII. ADJOURNMENT Council Member F Fernandez motioned to adjourn; Seconded by Vice-Mayor C Riggs. Motion to adjourn passed (6-0). Time 6:59pm CERTIFICATION: Respectfully submitted, Beverly Turner, MMC Town Clerk I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the Council Meeting held March 28, 2017 and the meeting was duly called and posted and that a quorum was present. Beverly Turner, MMC Town Clerk