MINUTES OF THE PEORIA CITY COUNCIL CITY OF PEORIA, ARIZONA PINE ROOM, CITY HALL March 4, 2008 A Special Study Session Meeting of the City Council of the City of Peoria, Arizona was convened at 8401 West Monroe Street in open and public session at 4:00 p.m. Members Present: Mayor Bob Barrett; Vice Mayor Cathy Carlat; Councilmembers Ron Aames, Joan Evans, Vicki Hunt, Carlo Leone and Dave Pearson. Members Absent: None Other Municipal Officials Present: Terrence Ellis, City Manager; Carl Swenson, Deputy City Manager; John Wenderski, Deputy City Manager; Steve Kemp, City Attorney; Mary Jo Kief, City Clerk; Stephen Bontrager, J.P. de la Montaigne, Brent Mattingly, Bill Mattingly, Bob McKibben, Grady Miller, Dave Moody, Steve Prokopek, Larry Ratcliff, Jeff Tyne, Glen Van Nimwegen, James Mason and Gina Soria. Audience: Approximately 15-20 members of the public were present. Subject for Discussion only: 1. Citizen Bond Committee Report John Wenderski, Deputy City Manager, explained an evaluation was conducted to determine if additional bond authorization was needed to sustain the Capital Program. Council appointed 29 citizens to the Citizen Bond Committee, which held nine meetings over five months and reviewed aspects of the Capital Program. Greg Loper, Chairman of the Citizen Bond Committee, commended Staff for their assistance to the Bond Committee. At this time, Mayor Barrett requested all present Bond Committee members stand up to be acknowledged for their service and he led the audience in applause. Mr. Loper discussed the assignments of the Committee: review infrastructure needs, recognize community priorities, identify projects requiring voter authorization, and recommend a course of action. Brent Mattingly, Chief Financial Officer, discussed the funding sources for the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). He highlighted General Obligation Bonds, which fund 30 percent of the entire CIP. Discussion ensued on the requirements to use debt. There are four main considerations that must be evaluated to determine the City’s overall debt capacity: assessed valuation, secondary property tax rate, voter authorization, and constitutional capacity. Discussion ensued on the use of bond proceeds by project type. Mr. Mattingly provided an overview of the City’s remaining bond authorization in the current CIP. Jeff Tyne, Budget Director, reviewed projects that require voter authorization, highlighting the following areas: drainage, operational facilities, public safety, parks, and streets. Mr. Loper discussed the Bond Committee’s recommendations, including: place bond projects on ballot for consideration by the voters, undertake projects without a property tax rate increase, and poll Peoria citizens regarding the use of bonds to support capital projects. If additional funding capacity is available, the Bond Committee would like the following projects to be considered: Fire Station #10, Community Center additions/improvements, residential street overlay program, and Grand Avenue major improvement study implementation. Council commented on specific street projects that are not funded in the program. Mr. Wenderski reported that to include additional projects one of the following must occur: adjust the tax rate, remove a project, or see if additional funding capacity is available. Vice Mayor Carlat stated it is not her intention to increase the tax rate. Mr. Wenderski reviewed critical election dates and community information. 2. Possible Charter Amendments Steve Kemp, City Attorney, reviewed the first possible amendment pertaining to Proposition 100, which limits City construction of certain projects. Mr. Kemp provided background of Proposition 100, highlighting it was the result of a citizen initiative in 1995. He discussed the City’s economic development pertaining to recreational and tourist related businesses. He noted facilities such as stadiums and arenas could enhance such businesses, however; due to Proposition 100 a public vote is required on the construction of such facilities with costs in excess of $500,000. Mr. Kemp noted this provision could potentially cause the City to lose economic opportunities. The proposed Charter Amendment would eliminate the provision of required voter approval for certain projects exceeding $500,000. Mr. Kemp discussed the second possible amendment pertaining to Council meetings. Currently Council is required to hold two regular Council meetings a month. Mr. Kemp noted if the Council schedule requires meetings off a regular sequence, two meetings must be held on the same day. The proposed amendment would require Council hold one meeting a month and adopt a schedule of regular meetings for the year by resolution. This would provide flexibility for the Council in scheduling meetings and avoid the holding of two special meetings on the same day to meet Charter requirements. 3. Process for Selection of Vice Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem Mr. Kemp discussed the current Charter requirements for the process of selecting Vice Mayor. He reviewed the Charter provisions of seven other Maricopa County charter cities, highlighting none of the seven cities provide for any rotation of the Vice Mayor among Council. The role of Vice Mayor in succession of the vacancy of the office of Mayor varies among the reviewed cities. Mr. Kemp outlined one of three concepts that could be used based on the seven cities. He noted a change in the provision would require voter approval. Council discussed which process of the seven cities they preferred and the role and responsibilities of Vice Mayor. Mr. Kemp stated a resolution will be brought before Council with language based on the consensus of Council. Adjournment: Being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was duly adjourned at 5:42 p.m. ____ __________________________________ Bob Barrett, Mayor ATTEST: ______________________________________ Mary Jo Kief, City Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Study Session Meeting of the City Council of Peoria, Arizona held on the 4th day of March, 2008. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 6th day of May, 2008. (Seal) ______________________________________ Mary Jo Kief, City Clerk