Cave Creek, Arizona FY 23/34 Budget, 16 May 2023

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From YouTube: 16 May 2023 Regular Cave Creek Town Council meeting

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Associated documents: https://cavecreek.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/54067/

A

Welcome to the regular Town council meeting town of Cave Creek Arizona Tuesday May, 16 2023.

A

um The meetings now in order will have the Pledge of Allegiance and Sean as a new person in the audience for asking you to lead us.

A

All right, the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and.

B

Justice for all good job.

A

Roll call Karma.

C

Certainly, mayor council, member augerton council member bunch here, council member elkema here, councilmember McGuire.

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C

Council, member Rhodes president.

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C

Mayor Roy here mayor mayor, Morris, I, know you're here.

A

um But public announcements- I don't have any today, but if someone else has one I do have one um this afternoon, I got a copy of the Strategic plan for the museum and it is outstanding.

A

I haven't had a chance to dig at it really well, but it's a lot of work to kind of it really describes a future that makes sense on your mic on it's awesome. It's awesome. Well, the museum directors.

D

B

The audience I think.

A

She probably heard that, yes, she did she's smiling.

A

um Call to the public.

C

Mayor we just have the one electronic card from Patricia: okay,.

A

uh I will read that this is a meeting comment card um from Patricia Baker on 12th Street, North 12th Street, so that would be out in Desert Hills.

A

um The comment is: need a water meter at 37215, North, 12th, Street, I'm, renovating the this eyesore property in a beautiful neighborhood and there's a pipe on the corner, but no water meter, neighbors have crepe Creek, Water and I have been denied. This is not new construction. It's been there since the 70s I am a current customer at another location, but also like to have Cave Creek Water 37215 North, thrill Street, which I am renovating so I. We turned this over to the town staff to uh deal with.

A

The town manager reports.

E

Good evening, mayor and Council I just have a couple of things: um it's starting to get warm out, um and so we are working to finalize the safety uh signage for the town that would cover spur cross, Recreation Area and our Trails, the mock-up, with the information for hikers at the entrances at the entrance to Spur cross and at the base or entrance to the trails would say um you know, give instructions and guidance about their cell phones, particularly going out and spur cross and keeping their phone on airplane mode, and things like that.

E

The mock-up should be done tomorrow and finalized. We'll have the signs made and out sometime next week.

A

Is is the county doing that or are we doing.

E

That we're doing that they are very large um I, think you saw them for a bike week that we got last year so very large, like a sandwich, board, type sign and so it'd be like at the base of Black Mountain and over at the entrance kind of going down to goja, Trail and out at um Supercross by the little Hut they have there for their volunteers and um the fire danger um uh will be elevated to very high uh by sometime next week because of the fire danger starting to dry out.

E

So we just want people to be safe out there, especially when they're.

F

E

Hiking, but also to mitigate any fire to um not generate spark causing activities. They'll need a permit so we'll raise that up to a very high.

A

Okay, we'll deal the consent agenda now um approval of the April 17 2023 regular council meeting minutes uh number two is Dina gift from the TNT real estate, Holdings LLC for right away at parcel 211-46-021 generally located at the southwest corner of Olson Road and 56th Street. A lot split, a case l-2205 requested by TNT real estate, Holdings LLC, located at the southwest corner of 50 Street 56th Street in Olson parcel 211-46-021.

A

A dated gift from focus on the family for a 15. What foot streetscape easement located over a portion of 633, East, Cave, Creek, Road, Cave, Creek, Arizona, a date of gift from focus on the family, for a 15-foot parking easement located or over a portion of parcel 211-10-006g at 633, East, Cave, Creek, Road, Cave, Creek, Arizona and finally, a date of gift from focus on the family for a right-of-way over a portion of 633 East Cave, Creek, Road, Cave, Creek Arizona. Is there a motion to approve the consent? Agent move.

G

To approve the consent agenda, second,.

A

All those in favor uh opposed motion carry 7-0 general agenda items. Council discussion approval authorized the mayor to enter into an agreement with Baker Tilly U.S LLP for the uh fiscal year, 2023 audit for an amount up to 38 500 for the financial statement, audit and four thousand five hundred dollars dollars for a single audit. If required. uh It's presented by the mayor.

E

Mr Mayor Brian Hammerly of Baker Tilly is also here um to answer any questions. I have a conversation with you and he does have a uh presentation for Council.

A

H

Thank you good evening, Mr Mayor members of council. Again, my name is Brian hemerly I'm, the lead audit partner with Baker Tilly for the town of Cade Creek's external audit I, do have a brief presentation for you um and then I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding the audit this year. So usually at the beginning of.

H

There uh usually the beginning of each other, we do meet with at least one member of council, usually the mayor. uh We met with the mayor last year at the beginning of our audit, um that's usually around October September October time frame, but this year it's my understanding. Council is interested in uh creating what's considered a internal audit committee or Department of sorts, and with that there was some information that the mayor was wanting the firm to prevent, provide to you.

H

So in order to do that, we decided we would go ahead and do our communication with governance early this year, as opposed to waiting for September when we started the audit. These.

B

Are the members.

H

Of your audit team, historically, the manager there Keely Lewis she's at a Queen, Creek and Marissa's out of Scottsdale and then of course, I'm with partner on the audit. We have three deliverables, usually with your audit. The first one is what statute requires by the state of Arizona. You need a financial statement, audit uh in accordance with uh government accounting standards and what we consider Gap. So we come out.

H

We do that audit and we look to make sure that your financial statements can be relied upon within a material amount for each one of your uh amounts within the financial statements. This is required by the state because you need it for grading agencies. You know rate utility rate studies, things of that nature, so every city in town in the state of Arizona, is required to get an audit of the their financial statements. The second deliverable is related to what we call the yellow book report.

H

This is on compliance laws, grants contracts, um Grant regulations, things of that nature.

H

We provide an opinion in the fact of whether or not you're, in compliance materially with the financial statement, so, for instance, if you're out of compliance for a 50 thing somewhere in the town, we wouldn't report something like that: I'd be immaterial to both the users and the financial statements, but if we found something very material that was out of compliance with state law or Federal Regulation or debt covenants than we would of course, report that and that that deliverable, the third deliverable is related to what we call a single audit.

H

This is for the Federal single audit for any grant money you receive over 750 000 in one year that is spent over that amount. So the federal government says hey if we're giving you grant money. um Usually this is recently. This has been related to the arpa money, the covid-19 money. uh If you spent over 750 000 in one year, then we have we're required to audit that specifically how you.

F

H

Make sure you're in compliance with that and make sure that the the town is meeting all the requirements of the federal government for that spending.

H

We also do things like your expenditure limitation report, that's required by the auditor General's office to make sure you don't overspend in relation to expenditures for each year. Data collection forms are required by the federal government for all grants. uh Our communication with governance, things that are not a test Services. We do actually help compile the financial statements, so, although management is doing the accounting all year, debits and credits, you know we take the trial balance and we put it in a form that is required by government Accounting Standards.

H

We prepare any adjusting journal entries that we consider necessary with management. If we had any adjusting Journal issues that management didn't agree with. We would of course, report those to you are audit timeline. We've moved it up, obviously so May 16th I'm presenting to those charging governance- that's that's all of you. We will be doing our planning for field work and our preliminary field work June July this year.

H

Our final field work is usually in September and October, and then we try and Report out to city council by the end of December November December, depending on how quickly we can get the supporting documentation for the audit.

H

This is some information regarding our audit planning considerations. We look over. You know we do use a materiality. We use statistically valid sampling. We don't audit every transaction in the town. We we have to be selective. We audit every transaction in town we'd be here for months and months, and it would be a very expensive audit.

H

um Other items that we have to communicate with governance, we do look for management override of any internal controls. We are concerned about improper Revenue recognition risk due to fraud, but that's the case that every city in town, utility, receivables and revenues are very high risk for us at this particular city or town uh Capital, asset reconciliations to Capital, outlay expenditures and Grant expenditures for allowability. Those are the items we really focused on in the past few audits. Things that you should be aware of is that in the middle of there the utility registered reconciliation.

H

The trial balance has been a management letter comment in previous years. It's it's difficult at times to reconcile between what the billing registers are showing to what the general ledger shows. It takes quite a bit of time to figure out and then, of course, we usually get to a place where we feel comfortable that it's materially correct.

H

This is some more information on our planning, our final field work and our audit completion. So we start with today- and we end with me back out here in December, presenting the results of our audit. There's any material businesses, significant deficiency or any controlled abuses. I stuck this slide in here.

H

This is what is not covered in this audit, so the town is not supposed to rely on this audit as a substitute for internal controls, meaning we're not really out here to to be the internal control, we're testing to make sure your insurance controls are in place to prevent, detect any misstatement student fraud or error.

H

uh We can perform certain other things that are not under the scope of the statute required audit. We can do advisory work, we cannot do Consulting work and we cannot do management functions and the reason why is because we need to maintain our independence in fact and appearance. uh If we came out here and we acted as an interim Finance director, or we made decisions on how you're coding certain journal entries, we would impair Independence. However, we.

A

H

With things like utility rate studies, flow charts for interim audits, inflation reduction, act, studies, budget projections or any fiscal stability reports that you have so that First Column are things that we can do. The second two columns are things we can't do. We can't reconcile your bank statements because then we would be auditing our own work and that would obviously impair Independence.

H

um So that's I thought that was a good important slide to have in case anyone had any questions on the differences between what we do and what you might have from other accountants or CPAs. This is a resource. There's a a website. Baker Tilly has related to audit committees. It's very helpful. As far as setting up audit Canadians, this is about as much as I can provide without impairing my Independence. We can't come out and set up your. We can't help.

H

You set up your audit committee because the audit committee is really supposed to be oversight of the auditor, so we would again it would give the appearance that we're basically getting you guys to do what we want you to do when, in reality, you're supposed to be oversight of our audit as governance. So, um but this does have a good resource page you can use on the website. uh Baker Tilly has choose by cities and towns all over the United States America Baker.

I

H

Is the 10th largest firm in the United States? We have a very large government practice all over uh and including Arizona with that. If there are any questions, I'd be happy happy to answer them.

A

The uh you you mentioned the utility uh revenues and operations not going into the uh into what into the.

H

The trial balances, okay.

A

And how long has that been going on.

H

All that's been going on for years. Really what's happening, is there's more detail in the billing registers than there is in the trial balance, so we're always having to try and figure out. You know, late fees or certain sales taxes or things of that nature. Where are they being recorded in the revenues for the trial balance and each year we have to kind of read review how that's being done.

H

um I think the last time we gave a comment on that was at least two years ago, because I think in the past two years, we've had good enough documentation from the town to be able to reconcile back to the trial balance within a material amount. So the major Billings that you know your normal water, Billings they're, they're, fine, they come in just fine. It's really the smaller items on that building register that we have a hard time trying to make sure being put in the right buckets of Revenue on your trial balance.

H

I, don't know it was that oh.

A

Yeah it answered my question is: maybe the uh someone on staff would say is: is this something being looked at or uh is there a fix, Insight or intended to this? Yes,.

E

Mr Hamley said: we've been working on that and it's improved uh since about two years ago. Significantly so I I don't know the exact status today if they've resolved everything, but they've made some significant improvements in it.

H

And you may remember: uh Mr Mayor members of council, Jane, Thompson Fuller, sorry.

A

James Fuller.

H

She played a big role in helping us crosswalk between the two systems and I. Think since then, it's been remedied.

A

Very good, thank you. Other questions from Council.

A

Was done a good job, excellent.

H

Look forward to seeing you yeah and you know I'm gonna stick around for the next few items. In case you have any questions related to the grants that are on the agenda, so I'll be here until until you're done. Thank.

F

A

uh We have public comment on this side mayor.

C

We have no request to speak for this item.

A

Anything from Council.

A

Seeing none uh we're on to item number two Council discussion and approval of fiscal year: 2023 budget transfer of 8 million 579 400 dollars from the capital Improvement fund mayor. Yes,.

C

There was actually a motion associated with the item, one for a motion to approve and.

I

C

Where to enter into the agreement, sorry yeah.

A

You've already caught me- and you just got here so is uh we're looking for a motion, then, on this uh first agenda, item motion to approve and authorize the mayor to enter into an agreement with Tilly Baker U.S.

F

A

For fiscal year, 2023 audit for an amount of up to 38 by 38 500 for the financial statement, audit and 4 500 for a single audit, if required. Second, all those in favor.

I

A

There any comments any.

D

uh Only that the name is Baker Tilly, not Tilly, Bank yeah.

A

Other comments, uh seeing none uh all those in favor I'll.

C

Be happy to perform the roll call for you, council, member Bunch. Yes,.

G

C

G

C

Council member Maguire.

G

C

Council member Rhodes, aye Mike, yes, council, member augerton.

F

Hi mayor Morris, hi.

A

Thank you for all the help I'm getting tomorrow, uh Council discussion, approval of the fiscal year 2023 budget transfer of 8 million 579 400 from the capital Improvement fund.

A

25-010-4100 to the following general fund departments, uh twenty thousand dollars to Administration it division.

A

01-02200-4120 37 200 to Fleet uh zero one-005 500-4120, two hundred thousand dollars to Public Works roads; division, zero, one-016, 200-4100, 350 000 to the building and safety department; Rodeo Grounds division, zero, one-005, 300-4100, 450 000 to the fire department for Fire Equipment, zero, one-007 200-4120, one million four hundred; seventy five thousand dollars for fire station improvements, zero one-007 200-4100 and the following Utility Fund departments. Seven hundred forty thousand dollars to the Wastewater fund.

A

40-021-125-4100 862 thousand dollars to Cade Creek Water fund.

A

50-050125-4100 225 thousand dollars to Desert Hills Water fund.

A

55-050125-4100 4 million two hundred twenty thousand dollars, two hundred four hundred four million two hundred twenty thousand two hundred dollars to 2023 with a loan funds.

A

65-050130-4100 and a budget transfer 366 thousand dollars, 283 366 283 dollars from the grant fund, 20-024 100-2478 to the open space acquisition fund.

A

19-000130-9699 wow.

J

Okay, good evening, mayor and Council, the fiscal year 2023 budget was prepared using a capital Improvement fund to appropriate current year capital projects. This was different than how capital projects had been accounted for at the town. uh In the past. Our previous protocol allowed Capital to be tracked and recorded in the Departments that will eventually use the capital when it's completed and placed in service.

J

After the fiscal year 2023 budget was adopted and the new capital Improvement fund was discussed with our Auditors. They recommended as part of best practice, to continue with our previous accounting of reflecting Capital project expenditures in the departmental funds for a cleaner reporting picture, the capital expenditures were reported or were appropriated in the capital Improvement fund for the fiscal year 2023 budget, the town is under the home rule expenditure limitation, which is the total amount of the adopted budget for fiscal year 2023 in the amount of 40 million 68 200. That amount cannot be exceeded.

J

However, expenditures can be transferred from One Fund to another fund, if approved by Council. To do so, staff is requesting Council to consider a request to approve fiscal year. 2023 budget appropriation of transfers in the amount of uh two million eight hundred and thirty, two thousand two hundred uh from the capital Improvement fund to the following general fund departments.

J

These are the Departments that um mayor had just read through. Do I need to go through those Again Carrie? Okay, please.

A

J

um So, basically, that's moving money out of the capital Improvement fund that was established back to the general fund departments um where those Capital expenditures were occurring.

J

um We were also requesting um a budget appropriation transfer in the amount of um a million eight hundred and twenty seven thousand to move from the capital Improvement fund to the utility funds, specifically Wastewater Cave Creek, Water and uh Desert Hills water and um from the capital Improvement fund of 4 million 220 200 from the capital Improvement fund to the new, with a Loan Fund, and then there was extra appropriation in the grant fund for fiscal year 2023 and we are proposing a um appropriation transfer from the um Grant fund that extra appropriation fund from the grant fund to the open space acquisition fund to cover the 30 um 0.6 acre spur cross purchase that was made um earlier.

J

This fiscal year Council had approved that purchase, but the appropriation was not in that fund. So this request would move the extra appropriation in the grant fund to cover the expenditure that was made there happy to answer any questions. Questions.

A

From Council yeah I just want to confirm this was this: is money from last year's budget correct, correct? It's not next year's budget correct.

J

It's fiscal year: 2022-23, okay,.

K

A

See any more questions, let's ask a little bit comment.

C

No public comment received for this item. There.

A

Okay, so um I guess we're looking for emotions.

D

E

To approve the FY 2023 budget transfer of 8 million five hundred seventy nine thousand four hundred dollars from the capital Improvement fund to the appropriate general fund and Utility Fund departments and a budget transfer of 366.

D

283 dollars from the grant fund.

E

To the open space acquisition fund.

G

A

um Read the comments I.

E

Know I think this.

D

Is business as usual Council approved it, and so we need to do it.

G

Just housekeeping so it looks cleaner and less and more transparent on the paperwork, so other.

A

Council members.

B

We're bound to not be able to go over our budget uh limit, but we can't anticipate all of our expenses, so this is normal practice.

A

Seeing no other comments, uh I guess: we'll have to have a role, column, council,.

C

Member, yes, council, member Maguire.

B

C

Councilmember Rhodes vice mayor Roy, a yes council member, augerton, aye, aye council member Bunch. Yes, mayor Morris,.

A

Aye motion passes 7-0, we're on to the next item: Council discussion, approval appointment of Town Council to the audit committee, um I I, sent out to to counsel I, had asked to Kerry to send out to council the document from the government Finance Officers Association, which is one of many many many, uh that that recommend that in saying that a best practice is that the uh that the top Committee in any entity, whether that's a board of directors or a council or whatever, that the Auditors work for that committee, because the management is being audited rather than the Auditors working for the management.

A

And this puts that practice into effect on a basic level um and it uh it basically for this year and until we get rolling, we can change it as we wish. But uh it makes the the Town Council the audit committee basically, and so this implements that best practice and begins it.

A

um And so we would be receiving the reports from the Auditors and we would approve those just as we have in the past, but we'd be more directly involved in the management and selection. If we decided to change Auditors, that would come from the audit committee, which at this time would be the um the Town Council.

A

So it um any questions from Council on this.

E

Another then to say thank you for having the initiative.

D

To get this done, I think it's a good practice. The.

A

Public comment on this.

C

No public comment for this item. There.

A

um I will make the motion, because I have a change here um so motion to appoint all members of the Town Council to the audit committee with the mayor and vice mayor serving as chair and the vice mayor as Vice uh Vice chair.

A

um Oh excuse me that I'm going to withdraw that I'm just going to read that as it is, I see that I misinterpreted that that sentence so I'm going to read it as his motion to appoint all members of the Town Council.

A

The audit committee with the mayor and vice mayor serving as chair and vice chair, the council member serving as committee members sergeant, all those in favor aye all right, follow us opposed motion passes 7-0, we're on to item number four Council discussion possible approval resolution, r 2023-11, a resolution of the mayor and Town Council, the town of Cave Creek, Maricopa, County Arizona. That's good news, Federal procurement requirements in connection with federal grants presented by the town manager.

E

Mayor members of council, the town, as you know, has applied for several federally funded grants and I believe it was in 2017.

E

uh The regulations uh changed that when you accept federal funds and it's over a certain amount, as Mr Hammerly mentioned as part of the audit, there would be a single audit on those the funds for that particular project, and we are now required to have a procurement policy in place using the Federal Regulations, so that that's on record and that would go in or with the contract. That is let for any kind of construction or bidding for projects that use federal funding so we're setting.

E

We have set this up in a resolution and that way we'll have this in place before we ever have a single audit on any of those projects that would qualify for a single audit. um We don't expect any single audits for the current fiscal year, ending June 30th of 23, but we wanted to have this in place in case they have a different opinion than the staff. At the moment, we don't believe there will be a single audit, but it'll be set up for next year.

E

Any of the grants that we've got um coming for the next year- and we know we've gotten at least one um if it meets the the dollar amount threshold. It would require a single audit and we want to have this in place so that we comply and meet the uh criteria and pass the single audit.

A

Questions from Council go ahead. um I noticed that we received a grant. Writing um I, don't know an opportunity to be to have grant writing training um that showed up, I, don't know May 10th and it's out there a bit. Are we sending somebody to that? Do we have a grant writing expert that we can.

E

We don't have a grant writing expert. We have um several people looking into those kind of Grants and what would be beneficial for the town and looking at at how we can do that. So there are different programs. This is one of them that we've identified a staff member to look into to this program and see what it offers us great.

D

E

Could you just give us a status update on the federal grants that we have been notified that we're in contention for uh well? We have been notified that we're receiving the water smart Grant, which would fund the meter replacement for the utility, and so new meters mean more accuracy means you know we're billing accurately and capturing the revenue for the actual water used, uh and how much was that, for that was on.

D

How much 500 500.

E

000, okay, that's excellent, okay and then another one that we're also in contention for is we we applied for 2.5 million through um all of the available legislators that represent the state um through Kirsten Cinemas office through Mark Kelly's office, to um uh representative schweiker's office and also through um Ruben Gallegos office. His was a slightly different funding, so there's the Congressional direct funding, application for 2.5 million and then their I don't remember the name of it, but it's another funding, source Community, Project funding, something like that through Gallegos office.

E

So we have four applications but we'll for 2.5 million, we'll only get one they they. If, if all of them get money, they decide where the money um how it gets distributed. So our project would only be funded once we've been notified by Senator Kelly's office that um his office has gone through their list of Grant applications and made a recommendation that ours be moved on in the process to um the federal committees that start reviewing that and that was to help support our Phoenix interconnected.

D

E

Interconnect project yes, very.

D

Good fingers crossed.

A

Other questions um I have one compound question. uh Is this a is this going to change all of our procurement procedures or just the procurement procedures on Federal and second is? Is there any increased cost for this.

E

um Mayor this does not change all of our procurement procedures. We followed the state procurement requirements and, and most of that's, uh if not all, is listed in the town code.

E

um The federal procurement process is only for projects that we are using federally federal funds to fund the project and they have to meet a certain dollar amount, has to be a threshold of a dollar amount to have a single audit and it costs money in the in the sense of when you do a single audit there's an additional cost, but it doesn't cost um well. You could Define what additional cost would be, but the project is buy, American, Davis, bacon, all of those regulations at the federal government. The federal government requires.

A

So there's probably some additional.

E

Questions yes,.

A

E

Addition, let's say.

A

4 500 bucks for the.

E

Project maybe more, but we've got funding. You know in terms of Grant or loans that would cover that.

A

Expressions: uh okay, seeing no further questions. We have public comment on this.

C

No public comment for this item mayor.

A

um At this point, then, we are looking for for emotion on.

G

The mayor motion to approve resolution R 2023-11 resolution, the mayor and Town Council in the town of Cave Creek and Maricopa County Arizona approving Federal procurement requirements in connection with federal grants, seconds.

A

uh This is not Financial, so I guess it gives My Voice vote uh all those in favor singing by saying aye, all those opposed. No, the ice habit motion carries 7-0, so we're on to council discussion, approval resolution, R 2023-10, the resolution of the mayor and Town Council town of gate, Creek, Maricopa, County, Arizona, approving concurrent ground leases for Town property located at 4300, East, Carefree, Highway and vacant property located within the town core presented by the development services director.

L

Thank you mayor members of council. um This item is, as stated, a resolution to allow the town manager to execute or enter into a concurrent ground lease for approximately five acres located at the wastewater treatment facility, a 76 Acre Site, located approximately at 4 300 East, Carefree, Highway, uh essentially adjacent to the food bank. Building that, hopefully, will get permits in here soon and begin construction on that facility. In exchange. For that it'd be a 50-year ground lease executed for property.

L

It's approximately one, acre located adjacent to the Kiwanis building right around the corner from the bars and restaurants there, it's very very much in close proximity to that. um This has been um a discussion that I've had with the owner of that property. Since really the food bank came through the process, they've looked at this site, they've, actually co-opt on this site with the town of Cave Creek, Public, Works Department for several years.

L

um It's currently in use in operations as an aggregate storage and operations site by the public works department. What the um what our lease partner would be looking at doing is putting in a structure set down below you know kind of in a bowl there, it's within a FEMA, recognized, floodway or floodplain.

L

Excuse me to houses, equipment and things of that nature, um see if I've missed anything about the location and the intended uses um so stated what the town would do with the one acre parcel in the town core would improve that to accommodate approximately 100 parking spaces. There's some existing vegetation that the town will try to salvage and relocate either on site or in the case of some of the Saguaro Spears locate out into the medians, which we've done in the past. With that I'll answer, any questions that Council may have. Thank you, foreign.

F

B

Would there be issues if there's flooding on Cave Creek and need to evacuate the uh their equipment from that site?.

L

On in on the Carefree Highway side, um no, the the site really Terraces down as it gets into the wash so the wash itself. The the really bottom of the wash is the flood way, and then it steps up to areas that are considered floodplain um and then up to the street. It comes up again, so it's kind of three levels as it goes down towards Cave Creek, Water,.

B

It's never gotten to the level where it would have been.

L

Not since or no Public Works, not since our public works department has gone in and really improved the grading at that site. No thank.

B

You Luke nice work.

E

I was just wondering Luke: how did we arrive at the number of years for the lease term.

L

um um Not my idea, I'm, not sure uh I I think.

E

It's 50 years is awfully long. We we are currently in another contract for 50 years that, uh in my opinion, uh has caused you.

D

Know some um trouble for.

E

Us as a town, so I'm just a little concerned that a 50-year lease is a little too.

D

L

uh Mayor vice mayor, the the leases were drawn up, um attorneys Sims and the applicant's attorney Carolyn jacinopy um worked together on this and I think they. They decided that 50 years with the with the built-in um terms of termination were acceptable to both parties and agreeable, so that the, if necessary, the lease could be terminated. Okay,.

D

Would you like to expound on that.

L

um Directly, have to get into.

L

So right on page two of the agreement, 78 in your packet, the rights are canceled. The landlord cancellation, tenant, Council cancellation um expense expounds on that 101 120 day, written notice to each party um cancellation can can occur with after 60 days.

L

um There are multiple outs, that's good in in the contract, if it's not amenable to both parties. After a certain time, okay.

E

As long as we're protected right, um I'm good with it.

A

I have a question kind of along that line uh Luke in that uh liabilities. If this is a lease, it means we're still, we still own the property, and um so what if there is a massive uh Deluge and their um front loader gets washed away and they decide they're tired of the place and everything turns to you know what um how are we protected there and the same for uh the person? That's you know, Leasing Property to us in town are we we have.

L

A

L

A

L

The the liability insurance is specified on page 81 of your packet page five of of the document. uh The tenants shall maintain public liability insurance in an amount, not less than one million dollars per occurrence um and so on and so forth. So there there is liability insurance there for those cases.

L

M

There's a couple questions um Luke on the property if this was acquired, does this give us access to the Kiwanis parking lot, foreign.

L

M

L

Very good question and something I've thought about uh in great detail is that there might be opportunity for cross access easement through the Kiwanis parking lot um for expressly that use to allow you know better vehicular access to that site, Ingress and egress from that site. But it is something that I haven't spoken to Kiwanis about um in great detail. But it may be something that that we examine in the future.

M

Well, I guess what I'm asking is if the property was acquired by the town? Does the town- and this would be free parking? Is that correct the town's not planning to charge for individual parking.

A

Places that is correct.

M

Okay, does the town have the ability, not so much for Ingress and egress, but do we get the additional spaces owned on the Kiwanis property for overflow parking for this lot, or is that's not something? That's part of this deal that.

L

Is not something that is, that is a component of this agreement. Now, okay,.

M

um Mr chairman, um at some point, if this is approved this evening, I would love to get support for an add-on that we do, or we probably already have if the council could get a report and a map of where we have public parking in town. This is one place so.

A

I actually was going to bring up a motion. Oh.

M

Okay, well, then, let me a little bit later: okay, I.

A

Have some similar concerns we're piecemeal and parking driving through town this weekend, driving through town at night, I've seen I mean I've, seen problems all over the place, so we're addressing one little specific piece, but we're not addressing the overall situation.

M

That's all I have okay.

A

Another other questions from this here I have a couple. um First of all, it looks like these agreements there's two agreements. It looks like there's reciprocity, I didn't count the words but looks like it's almost totally reciprocal the same language in each of the two. Yes.

L

A

And it is a effectively a short-term lease, because the cancellation turns correct yeah. um What is this going to to cost us.

L

uh Another good question: Mr Mayor I've, gotten pricing from uh Granger for parking space bumpers.

L

um At this point, it's unknown what we would be able to do in-house for tree tree and Cactus Salvage and relocation, but there will be some cost there and I've had discussions with the town engineer about the possibility of Chip sealing um the lot we can do.

L

We could likely perform the grading and grubbing once any Salvage is done in-house, but there will be some costs associated with chip, sealing that that surface and putting in parking bumpers, not astronomical by any stretch, I'm, not sure what the going rate is right now for per square foot on a double chip seal. But um it's not not mind-blowing.

A

That mind-blowing is.

L

We have money, we.

A

Have money yeah, no and.

L

Quality to answer your question there there is money in the budget this year that could that could be put it at doing the work yeah.

A

Any proposed from any Department that has expenses or cost outlays, or in or Revenue that has those contained in here. So we can see what, because right now by, if we all say yes and approve this, we're buying a pig and a poke which is what it's going to cost us um it. Also uh from what I'm looking at here, it's triple net, so we'll be paying property taxes that that would be covering the property taxes that they pay. Is that correct too.

L

I I believe so I would need to verify that so.

A

When they aren't going.

F

To be paying property taxes.

A

Because it's our land on on the five acres, they wouldn't be paying property taxes because that's our land and yet we would be paying their property taxes right.

L

I'm not exactly sure we.

A

Don't pay properties we.

L

Don't pay property tax on the on the wastewater treatment, terrible.

A

But that's one of my problems is that that's not a reciprocal, because it's I mean they're safe, not at all they're saving property taxes, which is another cost for us.

A

um The second thing is uh we're planning on improvements, which is maybe a chip seal and and parking, and some grading and uh and recovery of plant life. What are they planning as far as improvements on their site is? Is that at or about this, at or above the same Pro amount that we are I'm looking at as an inhibitor towards early cancellation right.

L

uh The value that they would make to that five Acre Site if they were to walk away from it, would be uh um a vast um Improvement I'm. That's not the right word of an asset to the town, so if they, if they were to put in their structure to house their equipment and they were to walk away from the lease and leave that structure behind, that would be um a huge Improvement uh to our asset. So.

A

Both sides have some skin in the game as far as absolutely it wouldn't be a a a quick and easy divorce. There's some problems with property, correct.

L

Yeah there's a section on trade fixtures and and the improvements that they would be making to that site.

F

A

Another question I'd really like to hear some numbers on them. What are we investing? What are they investing yep I I think we have a bigger problem for marriage. Like I talked to you about on Monday I. Think I'd like to make a motion to table this, um and let me go ahead and read the motion. I wrote, I, move that we table the proposed resolution, R 20 2310, regarding parking until we can gain a better understanding, the details of parking required within the town for it.

A

We need to understand the parking shortfall in total why it exists and ensure the town ensure that any solution provided be in accordance with the Arizona law.

A

Therefore, I request that the town staff be tasked with laying out the current parking situation in the town core that identifies the following four pieces of information: one each building in the town core two, the approved building occupancy limits of each building; three additional occupancy after construction for each building, for example, outdoor seating, patio tables or other occupied spaces, and four, the actual number of parking spaces at each building. I realize that a lot of these things happen in the past, but we can't really do anything about that. We have to live with.

A

What we have so I also would like that, that day, to be presented back to the council in both a tabular form and overlaid onto a map of the Town core identity, identifying each element of collected information before we make any determination on a parking solution.

A

That motion is on the floor. That was emotion, so that was emotion. uh We're looking for a second on that motion. Is there a second I'll? Second, that okay discussion.

N

It just seems to me we.

A

Might solve a solve a problem for Kiwanis? We might solve a problem for janies and a couple of the other places that are right across the street there, but on weekend, weeknights Wednesday nights Friday night, Saturday night. That's not where the parking problem is. The parking problem is further down by by the uh the bars. So, yes, it does help I suppose, but how many.

A

Well, I'm glad you feel excited.

B

A

It just seems to me that I'd rather make a decision, understanding the entirety of the problem than just a little soda straw. Look at things the second and on the second um I really need to understand. The dollar amount related to the words of asked Improvement or um what's what's happening there with uh with the ballots. It looks like a fair trade. It might be a great idea, but I'd really like to know what what those values are.

A

B

B

Luke, what would be the consequences of delaying this uh motion tonight in in, in order for you to do a comprehensive report on parking.

L

There are no consequences: Marion Council.

D

Well, I think, there's a consequence.

E

um I think this was a very Innovative solution to a long-term problem that we've had in this town uh for parking for to enable our pedestrians to get to our storefronts. To get to our.

D

E

um We've heard complaints ever since I've been on this Council uh that there's not sufficient parking in this town and I, don't attribute additional parking as a negative because it might help certain businesses because, first of all, I, don't necessarily agree with that.

E

I think people will utilize free parking in the middle of town and walk to wherever they want to walk. So I think that this was one really great idea to have a trade that doesn't cost either party anything.

E

In fact, this town is benefiting from from it I think more than Larson is so uh I'm in favor of it I think we should move forward, I think, ideally, yes, additional research would be valuable and that doesn't mean that we still can't do it, but I don't think we should hold up benefiting and and making parking more convenient in this town, because we need further study, there's a problem. We have a solution. I think we should act on.

D

B

I concur with the vice mayor.

A

A

I I guess my fundamentally business parking is for businesses to solve it. It makes absolutely no sense for me to um have a business come in and then put in extra seating or expand business or whatever require more parking in a town come in and pay resident money to fix their parking problem. They they have I the the um example I always get on a five dollar beard. The town gets 15 cents, so the the the weight of the benefit is far on this on the side of the um of the business.

A

So um solving individual businesses. Parking problems is not on my agenda General parking where it benefits a broad section of the town or we can use it for events.

A

um It is something I have interested like this I think this is uh not specific to any one location, but it's. uh It serves quite an area through there Kiwanis across the street. Well, I I, don't know if you've thought about how we're going to get across the street to businesses and things. That's another issue is the safety aspect, so I'm worried about the comprehensiveness of this solution.

A

It doesn't cover economics, it doesn't identify what the costs are as far as property taxes um and I I share the concern that it's not a comprehensive, systematic discussion of the uh of the Town parking in general uh you're going to town core plan. Aren't you is, is that is parking a part of that.

L

Mayor, yes, it is.

A

When is that going to be done,.

L

uh The Planning Commission will Begin work on that very soon.

A

F

A

From now two years, yes.

L

Sir yeah we're actually having a workshop tomorrow to to discuss that that very topic, as well as some other scheduling um uh things coming up. So yes,.

A

Okay, it this, you know I I hate to do this, but if um there's not a lot of potential for parking in town, is that correct.

L

Mary, yes, that is very correct.

A

That's my observation. I probably agrees with yours, correct.

L

The uh the really the goal of this and and council member Maguire asks what are the consequences if we hold off on doing this um really. The reason why it's on your agenda tonight is there is some money that we have in this fiscal year budget that terminates at the end of June that we could put towards acquiring parking bumpers.

L

um Looking at a surface for that, if we decide not to surface it at all, that's an option as well, um but the goal was to really do this and implement the parking area this summer before October November uh before those things start before the schedule starts to come back to us with with our out of town guests, so that was really the the goal of it coming before you this evening.

D

So let me make one last comment:.

A

Well, let me just finish this: the the I I really admire the fact that I mean we've done this with the Foothills Food Bank. We found innovative ways to do things there. We were doing we're. This is a piece of property that we control. That is pretty useless, given the floodplain problems and it does. uh It is a step forward. It's not a comprehensive step, and we don't know the scope of the comprehensive problem, but um it is, it is a uh what it would appear to be a a step forward um and I.

A

Think I made perfectly clear: I I really do not like to see projects come forward that have Economic Consequences that are subjective and qualitative rather than quantitative, um and this this qualifies for that criticism.

A

E

Last comment that I'd like to make is I see this project as economic development, which this town does not do. Much of. We don't have a person on staff to help this town sustain itself, financially uh I think by adding additional parking spaces, we are contributing to the financial viability of this town and its core businesses, which is our job on this Council. You know we are here to sustain to financially sustain this town and I think that this is one way to do it without it costing us a whole lot of money.

A

I have a comment. um This may well be a great idea. We I I've. My perception is that we need parking downtown, but um my perception is also that I'd like to understand what it costs and I'd like to not just have to guess at that. So um I don't know. If the motion has a time, you know a time frame on it. We're going to vote tonight. I would do some fair.

N

I would just love to know like.

A

What Larson's going to spend in the creek and what we're going to have to spend for this for this parking spot? So we have complete information here. This is going to cost us this much or that much yeah. It doesn't seem like that distress. I do have one other questions. Luke did you?

A

Did you uh go out with a request for proposal asking if there were any other pieces of open property that could be used for this, because my understanding is Arizona law if you're gonna, if you're going to create some kind of thing, whether it's leased or bought, you should go out and ask the rest of the community if they have space available that they might want to want to use instead of this, so I would like at least are we in compliance with Arizona law. There.

L

Yes, we are, the town attorney was involved in this whole process going through this. So there were no procurement requirements because it's a lease: it's not a trade of land uh through deed, we're we're in good standing.

A

Don't we still have to have an assessment of the property values? No.

L

A

Councilmember McGuire.

B

I think looking at this comprehensively, the way that councilman Rhodes has suggested is a very good idea, but probably that needs to be incorporated into the town core plan. That is a large uh will be a relatively large document and it'd be very important.

B

I'm very comfortable with moving forward on this tonight and I feel that that probably can be incorporated into the town court plan, but I see that I don't see the point in delaying what we're doing tonight, I think it's a very creative solution and I'm confident that this would not be a problem with the town court plan, but I don't want to hold it up until we've got a document that that could very well take years.

M

I, don't want to delay or suggest a delay at this point, but I would like, in exchange for supporting this request. I would like a firm commitment of a map in inventory for the residents of the community of the commercial Corridor or existing parking.

M

The idea of the occupancy is interesting, but we rarely get without that being a criticism, the type of documentation that we request, sometimes based on resources, sometimes based on prioritization I. Think if we good faith support this, that that's fair exchange is to have the Town come back to the council within 30 or 60 days, with a map of the commercial Corridor and a comparison of what's considered public parking private parking, and then we know how to build from there.

M

I just don't want to give a blank approval to a parcel that was done ex parte and not get something in exchange. I just think that information would be relevant to the people who have lived here for a number of years. Everybody knows the locations of places that got building permits and extending permits and rebuilding permits without complying with parking. Now, let's get an inventory of that, so we can address it.

M

One reason being that in the future the town may want to take a look at bonding for public parking, whether it's partially below ground or above ground or combined with Market space or what ever but we'll, never know how much we have and how much we need if we don't get a report and I just think that it's a fair exchange to support this, if it's so unique and the timing is important to have a commitment from the town staff that we get some type of parking inventory. That's my suggestion. Okay,.

G

Mayor we actually have a motion, a second on the floor, that we probably need we're.

A

Still in discussion, yeah.

G

Well, we discussion on that motion. Are we in discussion on the actual agenda's item? Well.

A

Yeah I I hear you, um we do have a motion and it consists of two parts. One is a motion to table and the other part is a motion to get information back on the overall situation, with the parking set I'd like Council to think about. If whether this past, if this passes, we don't think about anything if it doesn't pass, then we might be thinking about another motion that that has to direct staff to do some things.

A

So uh is there any more discussion I'm willing to withdraw the first portion of the motion that we table this, but I do want the staff to come back in at a certain point in time and identify the other four pieces and whether that's three months from now or one month from now, that's really your choice. Mr Mayor but I want the answer to those four questions. Okay, so are you going to I will I? Will women I will amend.

K

A

Take off the cabling of.

N

I will amend the motion to read.

M

I move that we.

M

A

Again, I move that we gain a better understanding the details of parking required within a town Corps, and then the remainder of the motion would be so I I will remove the words table the proposed resolution, R 2023-10, regarding parking until we can. Okay, we had the second down here. Do you agree with that? Okay, so we're now uh voting on the amended motion. Unless there's another comment, uh all those in favor of the amended motion say: aye aye opposed motion passes 7-0.

A

um We still have to vote on yeah yeah, so so now we're at the main question which is here which is to prove or disapprove this. This contract Mr.

E

A

E

um I, don't have answers to all of your questions about, but I thought for the record. I should let you know that, according to the town engineer, that the cost for the um double chip seal on approximately one acre runs about eight thousand dollars and that their staff, the Public Works staff, can assist with clearing the property and some of the Salvage.

E

They simply can't do the large trees that would have to be um contracted out um and then added with the the parking bumpers and then they can also in in-house by Public Works can stripe the um the chip seal once that's done so we're talking about answering a question yet on the property tax and the cost for the large item. Salvage.

A

I guess you're also going to have to cut the curves correct and grade them flat. No, no. There are no curves there.

L

uh The uh the median configuration is acceptable for Ingress and egress. There I'll I'll um all motion I'm talking about.

A

You have a curb next to the street correct.

L

Is there a curb and gutter at that location? You have.

A

To curve a couple curves also correct.

L

That's that's why the um cool and having a discussion with Kiwanis would be valuable also before doing those improvements to see if we can share access through their existing, but that is a potential yes, councilman grows.

G

Mayor I guess my concern is, is the is the property tax issue? Do we know how much those the taxes are on that one acre and are we gonna.

L

If only the owner were here to to um elaborate.

G

On that, so basically I mean I. I know what I know what kites were on the 20. They were about 40 000 bucks a year, so I'm wondering what we're signing up for as far as he's going to have five acres down there without a property tax, where we're going to have one acre with the property tax and I kind of kind of got a question about that. That gives me an uneasy feeling.

G

M

We're providing oh.

G

K

Be there well Council and mayor um the approximate taxes on nice, one I'm, sorry, Mike, Larson, okay and I'm, the one doing the families, um the approximate taxes on that property of 4 500 to 5 000 a year.

I

K

A

So I mean not me this time, anyways mayor.

G

Could I could I make a motion to table while the staff works out with the uh with them on that uh that issue.

A

uh You want to make a motion to table this until until.

G

They can get come to the resolution on forty five hundred to five thousand bucks a year. Yeah.

A

You can make motions well I just made it. Is there a second on that? Second, any discussion, all those in favor.

G

A

Aye opposed seven zero motion tape. The items table until we get the answers can I ask a question: how soon can you get back to us with the answers that we've asked.

L

You're uh asking for a full parking inventory of the town or no just.

K

This, oh just on the on the tax on.

L

The property tax um very soon a week two tops and then, if we need to go back uh with with our uh Council and uh examine modifying the the draft leases, we will do so. Foreign.

A

Well, you, you heard the comments here: I I I just asked that you'd comprehensively look at this, not the whole world, but as far as the economics on on it are concern uh and and also the scope, I I, it seems to have a lot of ability to have cooperation with Kiwanis yeah.

A

Okay, absolutely we're now on item number: six Council discussion possible adoption of the town of Cane Creek fiscal year, 2023-2024 attended budget and the amount of 56 billion 555 961. Adoption of the tentative budget. Caps of the total expenditures, the fiscal year 2023-24 budgets, following the approval of the tentative budget expenditures, can be moved within the budget or reduced. But the overall total expenditures cannot be increased.

A

Then by the town, manager and financial, major I can't because we have a fight and have the AV person fixed the mic, because mine is going crazy here.

G

What do you want to hear from me.

I

A

Let's, let's take a five minute break reconvene.

A

Okay, the council meeting is back in session and we are on item number six uh approval of the uh and possible adoption of the town of Cane Creek fiscal year. Tentative budget.

E

Mayor members of council, um before Mitzi, gets into her uh presentation, she's got a slide presentation with um specific referencing specific pages in the budget. To give you an overall an explanation. I just wanted to address the last issue.

E

I sent you an email last Thursday uh late afternoon, there were some questions about the tally, ho tandem, drainage, Road Project, as well as the medians and some questions um and moving money around, and we um gave you some details in that memo that was sent to council, but at the very end, in the summary we were recommending at this point in the budget process that, due to several unknown uh factors in the process of both of those projects that you leave the budget estimates as is, and, as you know, the budget is simply a plan.

E

It doesn't mean that every dollar in the the plan is going to be spent or it has the authority to be spent. The projects that require design and bidding and construction must come back to council for approval first, before those funds are expended for both of those projects and, for example, in the the tally ho tandem area.

E

We have a drainage study out that won't be completed till the end of this fiscal year, and so we have budgeted for sort of the worst case scenario in terms of drainage, because we don't know what the flows are going to show and what the cost for the drainage will be and the same with the median project.

E

We have money in for the design, but that design has to come to the council through proposal or qualifications from landscape designers and the council will have the opportunity to look at their conceptual designs and move forward with the landscape design company that best fits what you are looking for for them to complete the full design, and that will take time and the design then sort of dictates uh what the vegetation is and the costs Etc and the the medians are not. uh We do not intend to add water to the medians themselves.

E

The town will water. All of the plants and that also um they are required to file, follow our plant native plant list, and so all of that in the proposal will go out and come back to council. You will approve that and then that comes back for a final design and then you go out for construction. So there's a process that takes place and until you you know more, you won't know the costs um for the actual Construction.

E

If you don't um spend the funds in this fiscal year, those funds roll into the fund balance at the end of the fiscal year and become part of the available Revenue to budget for any remaining construction costs for either of those projects in the next fiscal year. So that is why, at this time, we're saying let let's leave the funds as is move through the pro projects. Neither of those projects will be 100 complete in this fiscal year.

E

Simply due to the process of doing the quotes, um getting proposals for the design having the design done, having it approved by Council and then getting the bid for construction put together and out and and back there, you will definitely get to a construction phase, but it it's not necessarily 100. So we're just recommending that you keep the funds, as is in the budget I.

A

Have a question on the medians? Yes,.

E

A

Can't we, as far as I, can tell we have about three and a half miles worth of medians correct.

E

A

Correct we would give those square.

E

Footage, yes, so.

A

Why couldn't we do planning for a quarter mile segment and then just replicate that on Down the Line make whatever switches or changes we need with trees that are already extant and add a saguaro and an Ironwood to each quarter mile segment? Why can't we do something simple like that mayor.

E

Members of council council member um that would design would be up then to the council to decide to go that way, there's a little bit more to it. Those medians have been sprayed for weeds for many many years and we would have to take out the soils and put that in and I mean there's more to the construction than that, and we do not intend to put any kind of sprinkler system in there.

E

We would have to be watering that, and we would anticipate that that would come from a landscape um design company to come up with the appropriate um native plants to put in there. We do have some plants, we could move, but we we don't have the exact plan and- and that could be part of your decision when you get the qualified um um vendors before you to lay out the plan.

A

So, are we going to go with a totally open competition when we do this, or are we just going to go to three people? We select.

E

uh Mayor uh council member, we typically put out requests for qualifications and they would come in, they would submit. You have a period of time for them to submit their qualifications and um in this type of uh project they typically submit concept plans and they can have options that would be submitted and presented to the council and the council can then choose what is appropriate for the median. So.

A

It goes out to everyone to bid on correct or.

E

Your selection qualifications are open to everyone.

A

Okay, how do we publicize that.

E

In the local newspaper and we're required to to publish that, we put it on our website, that's a procurement process.

B

E

F

A

F

J

Mayor and Council I will be presenting to you the highlights from the fiscal year. 2023 2024 tentative budget I have a slide presentation on your screens um for you to also follow along I've included budget page numbers, as well as the council packet page number, on several of the slides as well for easy reference. If you'd like to follow along in your um your book, I'm going to start with the revenues that have been identified in the tentative budget for fiscal year, 2024 31 of the revenues are coming from.

J

The general fund, 58 from the utility funds and 11 are from the special Revenue funds. Foreign breaks down the revenues by Fund in dollars. The total revenues and use of fund balances presented for fiscal year. 24 tentative budget in total are at the bottom there in green of 56 million 555 or 555 961.

J

The general fund revenues account for 17 million 334 794, of which three million 581 224 is being used from fund balance. The special Revenue funds are six million 484 258 capital projects are 20, 809 and Enterprise funds of thirty two thousand seven hundred and sixteen thousand one hundred thirty. Two million seven hundred sixteen thousand one hundred dollars.

J

The fiscal year 2023-2024 total expenditure budget is proposed at the same 56 million five hundred fifty five thousand nine hundred sixty one dollars moving from right to left on this uh chart. It shows, on the right hand, side that the total expenditure amount of 34 million 427 431 is for the Enterprise funds, including Wastewater Cave, Creek, Water, Desert, Hills water and also includes the 13 million 190 190 000 for the with a Loan Fund related to the Phoenix interconnect project.

J

uh The next column over is the capital project funds, which includes the remaining development impact fees which were not collected, which are not collected any longer and are budgeted to be spent um in the upcoming fiscal year 2024 and the amount of 12 366 dollars which, when spent, will close um this fund.

J

The special Revenue funds are budgeted for four million seven hundred and twenty six thousand five hundred and four dollars and represent our herf spur cross parks and trails, open space acquisition and Grant funds. These funds can only be used for specific purposes and not for General government expenditures and then over um to the left is the general fund and what is left and has a proposed budget for fiscal year. 2324 of 17 million 389 660 dollars.

J

The um slide that's on your screen now is the general fund summary, and it shows the income and outflows of this fund. This can be found on page 44 of the budget or page 154 of your Council packet.

J

The general fund has proposed operating revenues of 11 million 409 922 proposed operating expenditures of 10 million five hundred sixty seven thousand two hundred and sixty dollars a transfer in from spur Cross of 928 877 and net operations ending in the black of a million 771 539 dollars.

J

um This is this shows that the town is sufficiently covering its operating uh position.

J

This is the second half of the general phone summary I just couldn't fit it on one slide, but um the.

J

A million 177 1 539 is showing up there in the upper right hand corner in green. That's the total. From above. From um this amount we have one-time construction sales. Tax money is coming in and one-time general fund Capital project expenditures coming out, as well as our transfers out and contingency I'm, showing uh one-time uses of 5 million 352 763 dollars.

J

With these one-time Capital expenditures for fiscal year 2023-24, the general fund will be using existing fund balance of three million 581 224 and the general fund is proposed to end the year with an unassigned fund, balance of 22 million 828 557.

J

um I'm going to quickly flip to the next Slide, the um major general fund, Capital initiatives that have been included as part of the general fund for the fiscal year. 2024 budget include um the street Improvement projects, um which also includes the town core pedestrian safety projects, and also the median enhancements, and um as well as Street Improvement projects, meaning catching up on our road maintenance projects that we have out there, as well as fire station renovation and improvements and Trail projects, including the town core pathways.

J

Those General funds, Capital initiatives that I just went for and back to the original slide here, but I just wanted to point out that in the one-time sources and uses usage section there that capital expenditure line um to the very right of the five million 605, those uh major Capital initiatives are included as part of that funding that we're SP the one-time funding that we're spending on those capital projects in particular um and and making those expenses.

J

It's requiring us then, to um use part of our fund balance that we have existing or our savings account. If you will of the three million 581 224.

J

um I. Just also want to point out that, after using that portion of our savings account or existing fund balance, the town is still in a healthy and uh Good Financial shape, with our unassigned fund balance being 22 million 828 557.

J

So we'll move um from the general fund um into the fund summaries next for for um sorry, the Enterprise funds and uh the first step is the Wastewater fund, uh which is shown on page 95 of the budget or page 205 of the council packet. The proposed revenues show um three million 466.088 and um include for fiscal year. 2024 The increased sewer rates that Council had adopted in December of last year. The operating revenues are three million 455.099 and show a positive operating position of twenty thousand nine hundred and eighty nine dollars.

J

The one-time transfer in from the general fund to subsidized Debt Service until The Debt Service goes down less. The one-time, Capital expenditures leaves the Wastewater fund um at a net zero balance.

J

uh The next slide here is uh the for the Cave Creek Water fund, that's shown on on budget page 98 or page 208 of the council packet. It has uh proposed revenues of six million 461 122 and um also includes the increased water rates.

J

um The operating expenditures are 5 million, eight hundred and fourteen thousand, oh fifty five leaving uh the net operations of the fund in the black 647 067 dollars, accounting for one-time Grant proceeds and one-time capital outlay for projects. The net result for Cave Creek water is in the red um two million 140 390 dollars.

J

This um deficit is covered by the positive fund balance that rolled forward from the previous year, which leaves uh Cave Creek water, with a fund balance to cover its uh Debt Service Reserve requirement, foreign.

J

The Desert Hills Water fund is shown on page 101 or page 211 of the council packet. It has a it has proposed operating revenues, including the increased water rates of 4 million 458 500 and operating expenditures of three million 577 162, leaving an operating position in the black of 881 338.

J

Accounting for one-time Capital expenditures and a fund contingency Desert Hills has a net result of zero and fund balance sufficient to cover its debt service. Reserve requirement.

J

The next slide um I wanted to show was a debt overview of um what we've got outstanding uh for debt where we started and where we currently are for the debt related to our utility funds.

J

um They started with an original loan debt amount of about 66 million 772 thousand dollars. This amount has been reduced through Debt Service payments and refinancing Arrangements, and the debt that we have outstanding after making our upcoming 7-1 2023 um Debt Service payments will be 20 million, 988 940 dollars.

J

um I just wanted to point that out as well, because the utility funds have made great progress in reducing their financial uh debt obligations. Today,.

J

That is my financial presentation of the fiscal year: 22 20 or 23 24 tentative budget. As a recap, the tentative budget caps, the total expenditures. So there's a motion in front of council tonight to adopt the tentative budget for the town of Cave Creek for fiscal year, 23 24 in the amount of 56 million five hundred and fifty five dollars, nine five hundred fifty five thousand nine hundred and sixty one dollars.

J

um The next steps after adoption of the tentative budget, will be a public hearing and Adoption of the 2023-2024 final budget and that will take place on Monday uh June 5th. During this meeting, Council will receive the um final budget resolution that will come before you, along with the official auditor general budget forms at the next council meeting.

J

I um I'm happy to answer any questions you all might have.

F

D

Ahead: okay, I'll start I, just have I I, think a.

E

Minor question on page 14 in your organizational chart.

D

I, don't see um an area that identifies Communications.

E

Under I know, it's under administrative I know it's under carries area I think it's important that we identify that we have a position uh in that area. I think it obviously gives some respect to that position, but not only that I think it's important for people to see that we have a Communications specialist who produces information who relays information, who conveys information and also takes questions from the public, so Carrie. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to see that included in the org chart, wherever you want to include it. Perhaps human resources and Communications.

E

um Secondly, I also see under development services, Economic Development and so I would like to know. If I was erroneous in a previous statement that I made about us not having a staff person responsible for economic development in town or how do you define what we do in Economic Development uh mayor vice mayor, the economic development is under is in the development services department. It has always been in that department and has um been when, when we had two separate departments, it was under the planning director of the planning department.

E

When we rolled up the two departments it continues to be in that budget. It's just called development services, but it's in that section of the overall department, but we don't have one person who's responsible for that. No.

F

E

The director was, and and continues to be, in charge of those activities. Okay, very good. Thank you.

I

A

I have two comments. um This budget has two characteristics. um The first is that it describes the budget elements deemed Essential by staff. I, get that it's important to keep the ship afloat.

A

The expenditures may be basic to the operation of the town, and some may not be, but might be preferred by the staff. The council's priority discussion about these is missing.

A

The second characteristic of this budget draft is that it's not based on the Strategic plan and even more importantly, it's not based on the priorities of the council, because we didn't take the time to prioritize a strategic plan elements.

A

The mayor and the members of this Council have asked for time to prioritize these expenditures, but those requests have been glossed over in favor of a deadline to get this budget done. I understand that assurances that prioritization will happen have produced no action toward that role. When is that going to happen? When will we have time to look at where we're going with the budget, or is this the done deal, which is how it.

O

E

In terms of the Strategic plan, I've had those conversations with the mayor and it's fitting that into um all of the meetings that we're having I mean that it's having a discussion with Council, along with all the other activities of the meetings that we're having part of that is your the meeting. That is scheduled between the council and the Planning Commission to work out your projects. But we've had discussions about trying to schedule that on an agenda.

A

So the Strategic plan is supposed to be where the budget is built, correct. It's supposed to be built off a strategic plan.

E

Some of it yeah some of the priorities, but not all of it. Some operating projects and ongoing projects that have carried over uh from the year from several years I mean, especially in utilities, there's a lot of projects going on.

A

Yeah I'm not too concerned about the utilities piece, that's kind of a self-operating self-operating piece just simply because we now have it correct and I do appreciate the previous councils.

A

Finally, getting it to the point where it's self-sustained, but the rest of the budget really should be based on the Strategic plan, and it seems to me that that when we went out had the off-site at that strategic plan, a strategic planning session, we were expecting something back within a month and what did it take almost four months before we finally got it I think it makes me nervous about approving a budget that goes from 40 million last year or 40 million, and some change last year to 56 million this year and I get that a large part of it's on on the the water and Sewer.

A

But at the same time I mean you're talking about more than ten thousand dollars per person in this town. That's what we're going to spend I mean that's a lot of money. I mean we're talking about a town of 5500 having a 56 million dollar budget, so I I have some concerns.

A

um I have I have a specific concern in that the way the process should have worked for everything, with the exception of the utilities is, it should have gone to the Strategic plan and we should have tied the Strategic. We should have tied everything that we did in the budget back to the Strategic plan. We haven't done that and so I'm concerned about that.

A

Johnson rogerton.

M

Mr chamber, chairman um I, think you need 100 000, not ten thousand councilmember Rhodes.

A

M

A

M

Wanted to run a flag of the flagpole, so I'm going to be lobbying each of you um in an effort to make sure we're fully funded on the medians, because uh when you went to the numbers earlier on improvements in the town for pedestrian safety and so forth, each one of those raised intersections if I'm correct from the testimony from Hal in the past I think it was a hundred thousand dollars per intersection raised platform.

M

Could we so this is the trial balloon? uh Can we just bump the Gateway Trailhead, which serves people that do not live in the community back a year and take the monies that are in the line item for that and add it to the next disco years budget for medians and anything related to the downtown commercial Corps?

M

You don't need to react I'm, just because we're not later in the process. I just thought I'd raise that issue again this evening, because the amount of money that we're looking at for the medians is not terribly impressive or significant to do probably the miles of work.

M

That needs to be done and if we're really going to be spending 100 Grand to raise an intersection uh two or three of those can we not postpone the Gateway Trailhead, which is for horse trailer parking for people outside the community and put our money where our business is, which is in the downtown commercial quarter. Well,.

A

I'm not sure about the trailhead, but I, don't think the trailheads or any other single project is an issue. We have enough money in this budget to do what we need to do, but we, we just don't know the scope yet on on what the meetings are going to be. There's a lot of I have some severe concerns myself about the amount of square footage and Rain Gathering and uh I mean we're going to need. We can't engineer this from Council. We cannot engineer the um the roads and the medians from here.

A

That is the job that that staff is to do. We supervise that we can set Scopes and and approve that, but we need to wait until we get the information back. We don't have it yet and that's that's. That's required.

M

Well, Mr, chairman I: don't disagree with that I'm just saying that the Gateway Trailhead is not a priority of the council that I've heard discussed up here since the budget process.

A

I thought that was being uh it was a grant exactly.

M

435 000 or 465 out of town funds is.

E

My understanding is, that's covered, um the funding for that would come from Grant and if we didn't have a grant, we weren't going to do it. If am I mistaken.

A

Capital Improvement plans.

M

Yeah the monies that were talked about with REI and the state land Department.

I

M

Not match what the towns asking for from taxpayer funds for that.

A

Calendar okay, I'm confused that state lands me into this now. No.

M

The state land department grant that they are.

A

M

I see we had testimony before on that.

E

400 490 000 is um no.

O

A

So here we are prioritizing.

A

I

Was just a hundred thousand dollars well.

A

Let's, let's stick with I, showed the table before we start another issue. So let's get this question answered.

E

Okay, the capital projects first of all, are prioritized in the CIP and the CIP did come to council um for that year so year, one there's a hundred thousand for the Gateway uh project and seventy thousand of that is Grants. So it's thirty thousand dollars of funding from the general fund.

M

Mr, chairman Kerry, if I could in the capital Improvement project budget. What is that figure representative of.

E

This year, fiscal year, 24 budget.

M

So, are we suggesting that we spend that amount on the Gateway project, knowing that we have some matching grants coming in for we're.

E

Suggesting if we get a grant- and we don't have a grant at this time- that if we get a grant um for seventy thousand dollars, because there's a matching portion that the town would spend thirty thousand dollars if.

M

E

A grant we wouldn't do that at all.

M

And I'm sorry to be believer, this Mr chairman Kerry. What is that number then representative of, is that not a proposed expenditure.

J

Count mayor and councilman: are you referring to the 475? Yes, that's the total fiscal year, um 24 budget for trails in total, so that also includes um 200 000 in their Town core Pathways, the Gateway Trailhead and the uh Surrey Drive uh pedestrian Crossing.

E

M

E

Would not be funded unless we received a grant.

M

No I understand that. How much are we proposing to spend on the Gateway trailhead, not counting the potential for grant money.

E

Thirty thousand dollars.

M

That's there is the total proposed expenditure for all activities under that category.

J

The 475 is the total for trails in total.

M

Okay, and can you just break that down one more time for me now, I'm sorry to be belaboring, this I'm just trying to understand it.

J

No worries so um the town core pathways are 200 000.

M

And let me just stop you again: is that for acquisition or actual development.

E

Okay, it's first of all: it's in your packet on page 112. and at the top, um the the what for the great Gateway Trailhead? Is it for what acquisition.

M

Never mind I was asking a question for the money for the trails and the commercial Corridor. Is that money to purchase the actual right-of-way or is that the development to create the.

E

Trails, yes, we had discussion at the work session and it was 200 000 um to work with the property owners to get the easement so that we could construct the pathways okay. Thank you we weren't going to. We don't want to acquire them other ways. We'd prefer to work with them and.

A

There's about three.

E

Different areas, but it's on the North side on the east side of town I.

P

Mean it's between roughly those two roughly that yeah.

A

One thing I: we, we are not approving those expenditures unless it's within the town managers Authority, which is I- think twenty five thousand that's correct. This is another bite at all these.

A

If, if anyone in Council does not like one of these projects, we can vote against it, it doesn't happen, so we I mean we're not authorizing uh any expenditures tonight other than what is for the you know the salaries that the staff and the normal operating systems, but for the projects they're all going to come back here with in regard to our procurement procedures and approval proceedings.

A

So you we've got another bite at this apple right and we have contingencies. If something comes up that is not in here, we can ship money over to it. We have a million 1.2 million, that's shown as an expenditure, but I don't know of any year, we'd ever taken any money out of that contingency. So that's.

I

A

This is to meet the state requirements to get expenditure Authority for all the things that we're doing um Mr.

M

Chairman, just in summary, uh what I'm attempting to do is to try to hire prioritize a project which the council supported just to see if there's any potential of coming up with some more money as the medians in the downtown efforts or of a higher priority than some of the other projects that are outlined so well.

A

M

Was such a flag of the flagpole? If we don't I mean a hundred thousand dollars to raise a crosswalk three or four times through the town is a lot of money that doesn't do much for beautification or popularity for one thing: yeah.

A

So, there's no doubt about that, but Kerry.

M

Didn't answer my questions. I appreciate that.

A

Well, um we're going to need expert help on some of these things and and the medians are are one of them we need. We need professional design, professional, a procedure how we're going to handle these things. How much vegetation can they support? What we're going to do with the dirt where the plants are going to come from um I the the number is 600 000 was shocking. We heard in total, which I would be extremely reluctant to spend that much, especially uh since we have other higher priorities. That is not the um the highest priority.

A

We that I have at least so I I I think you know we beat this to death in my view, um and uh we still have flexibility to do everything I've heard tonight. We still have flexibility uh to do in the future, but this gets us on the road and gets us starting doing stuff rather than beating these numbers to death.

D

um Although I I.

E

Would like uh Carrie to respond to the criticism that um we haven't given enough attention or time to the Strategic plan and that items within this budget don't necessarily correspond with the Strategic plan. I'd, like your your opinion on that, and also there are solutions to that going forward.

E

I remember when I was working at a governmental organization, every single project was tied to the Strategic plan and just in the in the brief, so there's ways to make it more obvious how it ties to the to the Strategic plan, but for this purpose, what's what's your position on how well we are functioning within the Strategic plan that we developed uh well traditionally, when you have a change in Council and we have a new mayor who was on the council, so you're carrying forward sort of some continuity, or at least you know the corporate knowledge of where we came with the budgets in the previous strategic plan.

E

But when you have new council members and the timing of when we have to have elections now, because our elections didn't used to be in the fall that was mandated by the legislature, so we had Council that used to come in the first Monday of June, and you had six months in office to work on these things and get priorities in place before you were sitting down, doing the Strategic plan and getting um uh the CIP put together and having to put together a budget and um there's.

E

There are some new ideas and new things that have been put in in this strategic plan and some haven't been flushed out yet, but in terms of the budget, we've got the majority of the projects that would cost some money. There's plenty of money. In this plan. It's only a plan and you have all the flexibility throughout the next few meetings.

E

When you, when you hear the projects in July from the engineer and the the town, core safety and pedestrians and all of that to flush out the direction you want to go and see what the recommendations are and the warrants you have plenty of time to work with the Planning Commission and then come up with what ordinances you you may or may not want to focus on and changing and prioritize those as a council. And if you need I, know, council member alcamo was concerned about Professional Services.

E

If we need a consultant that can be worked out, we can move that money around you. Can you have all the authority to move your projects and money around? As the mayor said, so much of it is tied to the Strategic plan, but there are details yet to work out as a new Council and with staff, and we can accommodate all of that. It's this is not like this gets approved and and there's you know it's a done deal and you can't do anything else.

E

It it's always fluid and there are always new things that come up every year. Some emergencies, some something that you have to do, and so we're spending money and time on those projects and we have to shift them around in this strategic plan and in the budget. So we have to be flexible and all this can be worked out.

E

Thank you, but I do think going forward that all of the projects that staff brings to us should identify which part of the Strategic plan it applies to and correlates with, and sometimes it's more than one, because.

F

E

Right right and ideally, yes, it would all be set and those projects would be identified and the little icons in the budget would line up in the budgets along with the Strategic plan, and it was. It was a little better, the last couple of years, but we'll get there. It's just. You know.

M

A

Guess that was the point I'm trying to.

D

A

The council needs to make a decision about which things are first, at some rate, depending on the staff's skill set, which is happily working just fine about the money but I think that helps the staff as well to say. Okay, we know that this is one of the council's priorities, and that means it's at the top of the list.

E

That's true and and as I said, things do change and new things come up, and so we also have communication with the council and say look these are your priorities and this is what's on the plate, but now we have this other problem. We have to deal with. What do you? How do you want to reprioritize what comes off the plate or gets set aside for a few months? While we work on the southern thing, it's a fluid situation all year long every year, and and we can work through it all.

A

Right I just want to say about about the Strategic plan. um We we try to do the Strategic plan, while we were doing the budget at the same time that doesn't work. We've talked previously about moving that back into the latter part of the year before so we're not doing it because we never get around to prioritize. It was always that meeting ended with a bunch of stuff and it never was worked into a plan. It wasn't a plan.

A

It was a bunch of brainstorms and uh we're going to look to solve that this year and get a more traditional uh strategic planning consultant. Who can put this all together and get it prioritized we walk out of there. We have this thing done so.

B

A

Don't think anybody is proud of of that of the way the uh the deliverable that came out of that strategic planning process and we got to do better. That's that that's my commitment and I think a lot of people share that.

D

um One last comment: I'm sorry, one last comment.

F

D

E

On on uh Mitzi on one of your slides, which attributed many of our costs, which I think you let off with the medians and The Pedestrian, what was not mentioned, which is a huge cost, is our fire. Our ongoing expenses related to the fire department and I think that did I miss that, because.

Q

I didn't see it on that. Well,.

E

For those were the the capital projects, so the fire station and all of that, but the operating that is awesome.

D

E

Was the difference, so that was okay, because I I think that we need to remind uh our public of the ongoing expenditures to maintain our new fire department, and that is a large portion along with our our water department. uh What eats up a lot of our funding.

A

um So if there are no, are there any more questions, if not we'll move the public comment.

C

First public comment: Evelyn Johnson.

Q

Good evening mayor vice mayor, I wanted to uh commend you on maintaining the community grants within the budget. It does make a huge difference for your non-profits and I wanted to commend you for that. Thank you. Thank.

A

You thanks miss judge.

I

C

Is Chantal hanjay.

R

Good evening, everyone after discussion during the last Town council meeting necessary improvements on tally ho were headed in a positive direction. However, since then other significant details that were omitted by Town management during the last meeting have come to light. I also refuse to believe that a large sewer and hydrant plan was just completely forgotten about um right by the town management to the last meeting.

R

um I also noticed that in the budget, there is nothing Beyond fiscal year 2024 in regards to Tandem or tally. Ho I would like to point out that, contrary to what the town manager made earlier, um regardless of what a drainage study shows, these are pictures that the town actually has, that is water, going down Tandem, and that is water right up into the house.

R

There are more pictures like this as well so for Town management to say that they don't know about these drainage problems until we get a drainage study. That is absolutely not true.

R

Having said that, since there is now no definitive plan for caliho, my questions are as follows: one, what is the timeline and the overall plan for each stage of this road? Two, when will hydrants and Sewer be completed on this road and three? If Chip sealing is not going to be done now or in the near future as discussed, what is the date for chip sealing? After all, other improvements have been completed.

R

I would like answers to these questions. If possible. um Is this something.

A

We don't have those answers. Chantelle I mean we. We've got to do the study first with starting with with the drainage. So you can ask the question, but uh you're you're.

R

Let me remind the town, please: the town that tally ho and tandem are the only two rows on Black Mountain that are not paved.

R

um Town management is obviously well aware of the issues on this road in the past, when I have inquired why improvements have not been made on this road I was told it was because the road was like this before the town was incorporated. That means that you had 37 years to fix this road and the problems on it.

R

um The town apparently feels that they are not truly liable for what happens on this road regarding residents, health, safety and property. I. Don't believe that that's the case, I think you are liable for what happens on that road, especially when it is caused by your lack of Maintenance and your negligence and neglecting the road, um the water study and the drainage study. The town management has brought up repeatedly. That was not done, and that was not begun until I was out there shoveling dirt on Valentine's Day of 2023..

R

That is what brought that drainage study on it's, not because they did it, because it was the right thing to do.

R

I was once assured by Town Council Members that emergency assistance on this road is not hindered by the conditions of the road. Only then did I produce a video of a fire truck getting stuck at the top of the hill on this road I had one specific council member come out to my home. He has made multiple comments to other residents on the road as well, and he told my husband that he believed that the road was unsafe, even after repairs were made and it was maintained after each rain residents.

R

Wait three to five days for repairs to take place. I have been told that our road does not get special treatment. We have very different different definitions, apparently of what special treatment consists of I have been told by Town management that when people move here, they buy big trucks that is totally unreasonable and not a realistic expectation for people with homes in this area.

R

In the meantime, we are all breathing the dust from this road. It is unsealed, GSA I, believe that contains silica dust. The road is not properly maintained as far as dust control, and there is nothing done to stabilize it each time it rains and our road is washed out. The town is diminishing. All of our enjoyment of our home and the usage of our home I will only speak for myself. I will not speak for other residents, but you've had complaints from more than 12 out of the 20 houses. Just on Tallyho, not even tandem.

R

I am confident that residents would rally for a common goal if they had to, even though many of them are elderly and they do have health conditions.

R

Me personally, I want this resolved in a quick and thorough resolution, but I will tell you that I have reached out to Media outlets, and I will take this further. If this road is not handled.

F

C

David Phelps.

O

Good evening David Phelps, Cave, Creek resident so on in your packet, you will have the um CIP budget, which clearly states that the Gateway trailhead under the trails shows a 415 000 expenditure over three years now, I understand that staff would like you to think that we're going to get some free money, but we're going to have to match free money with real money money collected through our sales tax system.

O

I think it is atrocious that we're about to go, invest. Take the first bite the first hundred thousand dollar bite in this budget, and we've got folks in her situation.

O

It's just unconscionable. We can't find the money we need in this town to fix that for all those residents.

O

um I'd also like to refer you to page 79 and 80 in the budget that was included, because when having a disagreement of fact well, one of the council members and I would like to know if the half cent spur cross sales tax is in fact where the revenue comes from for the water.

O

I, don't know you have so many accounts here, but water excuse me.

O

Infrastructure fund.

O

That would be a question mayor for our financial. um Let's see, I'm sorry, let's see I, don't recognize Steve.

O

So that we have a transfer out from the spur cross fund to the water infrastructure this year, um it appears that we're in the 800 000 plus range for that 828 thousand dollars. That money is actually generated.

I

O

The half cent sales tax all of the spur across fund this week and my right am I. Reading that run mayor for your Finance person, so I don't get you caught in it or somebody else. Where's.

A

The money come from.

E

The spur cross tax, the percent is set by ordinance and the first part pays for all expenses related to Spur cross and then the first 100 000 after that goes into the trails fund. And then the remaining portions are split: 50 50 between the general fund and the water infrastructure fund, which is set up by ordinance.

B

E

I've seen that ordinance, it was done in 2017.. Why this guys and.

O

I've asked every single meeting here to reinstate the open space fund and quit taking money out of the general fund to subsidize your water projects. You got plenty of money, you can borrow. You got plenty of rate payers willing to pay whatever you want us to pay to provide us water.

O

Has anybody been calling here and saying I can't afford my water bill? No, we don't get that. Luckily,.

O

uh I've got 37 seconds left I'm going to say that the.

A

Wrap your comments up.

O

O

uh I'd like to know the cost in the budget for the 100 tons of collection for the greenway stays. Thank you.

A

Thank you, Ms Phelps,.

C

That finishes public comment for this item. Mayor.

A

Okay, so we have finished public comments, so um we're at the point for emotion: is there a motion to prove the.

A

The budget for this year.

G

I can do that.

G

Wow motion to adopt the town of Cave Creek fiscal year, 2023 2024 attend the budget and then in the amount of 56 million five hundred fifty five dollars, uh 555 and 961. That's a hard number to say they're all hard to say.

A

Yeah, the second um Mr Bunch, you had the motion.

G

Comment, yeah, you know, I mean one of the one of the things you need to look at is. Is we do a budget every year and it's and it's been pretty big lots of times, but if you compare that against the uh the kafir that we get in December, which shows what we actually spent, it's usually much less than that, because there are things that we have to make Provisions for like grants that may not come through and all kinds of stuff. It's a huge number.

G

uh It's not necessarily uh an accurate number for what we're actually going to do as as um as seen in the in the previous history, uh so I well. Well, it's it's kind of a kind of I. Remember the first year that we had one that was 42 million I was like oh my God. What are we doing, uh but uh this is how we got to do business.

A

B

Yeah, that's this is put in cap and you have to make sure that the cap that we put on our spending covers what we need to spend. I, don't think it's an unreasonable uh look at the budget uh and I agree with what uh former mayor a bunch of saints.

A

Other comments from Council I just think that we're going to spend that kind of money we need to make sure that we're accommodating. You know the Urgent needs of health and safety issues, and it sounds to me like Tallyho and tandem, our health and safety issue that needs to be addressed now.

E

We're being addressed, I thought you were taking a lead on that actually I.

A

Was but I was told that we can't pave the road because we've got to put fire hydrants in and we've got to put other things. So we're talking about 4.4 miles of roadway. How much is 0.4 miles of roadway chip seal.

F

I

F

The drainage improvements which have to go in first are going to be about 130 000 for the two roads, with about 130 000 in chip ceiling for the two roads uh after they're done absolutely.

A

Right we're going to chip seal it when it's done or are we going to wait until the fire, hydrants and.

F

Currently, in the budget that we've put forth, there's money to chip seal it this year, okay,.

A

Thank you that's different than what I was told earlier, but.

F

That's the money is in there, so, but the council decides they want to do it. No perfect, perfect.

A

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. All right uh can I miss down this end.

A

I have a few comments. um Just in general, um this town has had some extraordinary external things thrown at us. We have some internal improvements and we have some absolutely Blockbuster projects that are going to address problems that have plagued this town for a long time. Let me just say that we had a fire and we have put in Fire Protection with no new taxes.

A

um That's in this budget not only operating cost, but the cost of fire department and the fire engines and all the other things um we had. The loss of almost 20 percent of our water customers in the Cave Creek System show that to him and.

D

It's all something about Carefree.

A

And the uh uh that came out, we had to cover that in the water rates we had a number of subsidies between departments and all of the place where general fund and other places were uh subsidizing uh even places outside of town that has all been corrected, um and in doing so, we've not only covering these major things have been thrown at us, but we've got some Dynamite projects that are going to enhance this town. One and probably the most important, is uh the safety issues with pedestrian safety.

A

We are funding pedestrian safety, it's a priority, and it's being done this year. It could have been done a long time ago, but we got it done this year. The second thing is the Phoenix interconnect is on the budget that gives us water reliability. Instead of having 20 30 40 50 single points of failure on that cap line, we will have a backup supply of water, um the roads, the roads were falling in disrepair instead of putting 500 000 bucks a year into Rose we're putting 2 million into roads this year.

A

So this budget addresses the needs of this town at the very basic level of safety.

A

Of of Fire, covering the the water and the sewer and the things that this town has to do in order for this to stay a town, so I I'm pleased with this budget um I, don't also like to point out that um uh that number 56 million sounds pretty high, but the other ones sounded high too, and I want to point out that in 2122 that we put four million dollars in the bank, we were four million to the positive uh in this year.

A

We're estimating right now that we're going to come in five million dollars better than the budget. We showed a deficit for this year's budget, we're going to come in five million dollars better than that and put almost three million dollars into the bank this year. We're talking about taking some money out of the bank to invest in the infrastructure in this town like Rhodes, roads is the very biggest one in the general fund and then, of course, we have the interconnect and and the water project. So this is a budget that meets the town's needs.

A

Now we get all into all the little projects and things like that that we're down the weeds, it seems to me and the appropriate time, for that is when these things come up as long as we have the money in there to be able to operate and to do the things that this town needs to be needs to be done and I think it's going to be a good budget.

A

I'm uh I'm I'm pleased with this I'm not pleased with the way the Strategic plan folded in it's kind of messy, uh but the result is something that the town can be proud of and it's going to meet the town's needs, if even if the eyes and T's were not taken care of, as we would like to have them done with that, I think. That's all the comments. We've got the public comment in so I. Yes, we had.

D

A

Is this a uh roll call.

I

C

53 million dollars.

A

Might be a good idea all.

C

Right: council, member augerton, no council, member Bunch, yes, council, member alkema.

G

C

Councilmember McGuire, yes, council, member Rhodes, no vice mayor Roy, yes,.

A

C

A

Yes, motion passes, 4-3 budget's adopted.

A

So we're on to the next item, which is the uh presentation of quarterly utilities report.

O

Exactly language.

A

D

A

Is a matter of information I see that that Carefree uh and turn down the uh the automatic age and.

C

It looks like Tempe, the coyotes are going down.

A

B

80 against interpret.

P

B

P

um Let's wait for a presentation to load, but uh you know what they want to point out is uh I'd like to actually thank my staff uh for the last uh several months. You know this is a quarterly report, a little out of sequence in getting this to you, but uh we've actually had some recent turnover and staff.

P

So my uh I want to thank the staff that stayed with the town and actually are providing uh your utility services on a 24 7 basis to uh make sure that their customers are receiving the best service they can so we've had our challenges with people uh leaving the city. um We've actually had some challenges with some people at weeks we offered positions to, and then they rescinded the last minute.

P

So, uh looking at my peers in the uh industry, we're all going through this right now, so it's pretty stressful right now trying to make sure that we have it so again. I want to just put the Kudos out to all the staff, members and utilities right now from the office staff to the the building staff to again the field staff to make sure so um I I'm just here presenting to you but they're. The ones actually doing the work so foreign.

F

P

I was gonna, be a little more judicious with time today and just you know, there's a lot in the a lot of information in the slides I'm just going to do a couple of summaries, but if you want me to stop at any one specific I'll I can do that. So our water demands uh you can see what we do here in this graphic show year over year, so 21 is yellow.

P

22 is the blue line and red is our 2023 values we're not seeing on April actually how the numbers, 51 million gallons of water that we produced to the system? This is actually showing I. Think the uh the typical Trend we're seeing and we're actually seeing a reduction in demand because of the the transfer of the Carefree customers. That was I think, as mayor indicated a little earlier, it was about 18 percent of our our demand went down this last month. We um for April.

P

We saw about a 10 million gallon drop in our total demand in the system. Because of that.

P

Foreign slides, you really just show where the water is going to so I, don't know if you need to get too much into details. This is the deliveries of our central Arizona project, water. Again we it's. uh We are still providing water to Carefree customers within this report that is starting to taper down. uh We provide Still Water to Desert Hills to support the system out there because the groundwater, uh the wells, cannot supply enough, and then we actually do provide some water to Ranch Manana.

P

In this case, the ranch pinata flows you're, seeing here, are actually the total of the raw cap water. We delivered to them and it's also the the back wash water from the treatment plan. So as we process the the surface water, the centralized on our project water, we you know the dirt and everything we removed from. That is what we consider backwash water, so that is being sent up there. So when you see that number 128, 000 or 128 um acre feet, that is actually those two components: it's raw water and actually backwash water.

P

That's being sent to them uh talked about this for a while. How we think about it is revenue versus non-revenue water in the system. um So that's the amount of water that we treat and put into the system versus what we actually recapture in Revenue. um So that's. This is showing the health of the the building, the metering system and I'll give kudos to the staff. Who've been doing a lot of work uh recently to get caught up on things like and I'll talk about more details on our metering system.

P

uh We've had some challenges in the Cave Creek metering system because of the age of that, but the staff have been doing a yeoman's job of keeping up with that, and you can see the the graphs are coming together more closely. So at this point, when we look at the water that we're sending out of the treatment plant and then actually being able to bill for it is getting Tighter and Tighter, which is good for us. We do um uh account for uh um some things, like some metering, actually Hydro, flushing and some other stuff.

P

We tracked that separately, but this number is actually uh getting better every year over year over year and actually I think that's a good kudos to work by staff.

P

uh The first first chart was for Cave Creek. We, we considered Desert Hills a little bit differently so uh separately. So this is again showing the Desert Hills system. Desert Hills has always had um uh for a number of years has had a better customer meters that we changed them out in 2012 that the town started changing out those meters to a neptune-based system, so we've actually had better metering out there.

P

So that's what we're trying to get caught up on the Cave Creek system is to replace the meters, which are an older age and more inefficient.

P

um This is one that we're perplexed with and we're going to try and look at I know: I've had discussions with the mayor on this and the council members before um this is the amount of water that we produce at the treatment plant send back into the system and it accounts for all the metered losses that we have at the plant so, and it also accounts for the the raw cap meter that we have at the cap Canal, which is what it's actually used to both account for and Bill for our water that we take off the canal.

P

That is the green line you see on this and um for the last few months it's been pretty close to the amount of water coming into the system. So it's a total of five different meters. We expect to have some inaccuracy between between the five but we've noticed. Last year we actually were trending good and then also in the summer hit, and it went very erratic.

P

You can see sort of the end of that in July August uh to Peak up there, so it's showing about a 15 Gap, so I'm working with staff right now to try and find out what's going on in Scanners, five separate meters that we combine the totals together, but something is going on in the system. It's important for us from an accounting standpoint, because, as we go into discussions on cap shortages, we need to know how much water we actually are moving up the canal and we're accountable for for taking seen off the CV Canal.

P

So something something's, not making sense and staff are working on that. We've worked on it before we, we got it in line, but last summer it went awry again. So we're gonna have to take a look at this again to see if we have a metering error and one of the the process meters or something else, that's going on long term, we do need to replace the ca the meter at the cap booster station.

P

um My fear is that project means we're going to take the pipeline down and actually cut into it, which could take a day to two days, which means we can't deliver water up the pipeline to the water treatment plant. So my goal is to do that once the uh the interconnect site is done, so we can actually breathe and actually do that project properly.

P

Right now, it'd be pretty much an emergency work to get it done, so um so we're going to hope to get better metering and sort out if there's any issues before that time. But in the end the main meter down there needs to be replaced. Cap has had a conversation with us, but it's just it's very risky for the town right now, even in a winter time frame, because we will be taking the cat pipeline out of service to to do that. Installation.

P

We do track the losses that we uh in effect some games. We create ourselves the red on this graph is the hydrant flushing that we do in the system. Our system uh distribution system has a lot of dead end lines in it, so we do actually have to move water out of it um to make sure that we keep fresh water um compliant water in the lines. So that's the red graphs you're seeing there and then the uh the Water losses are actually the are this graph I showed you last year or the year prior.

P

Actually, there was a lot more orange on it because we had a lot more leaks, we're still getting leaks in the system, but staff are responding to it, a lot more quickly and being able to shut those leaks down. So the amount of leakage is actually drop considerably, we're getting into service line repairs- and you know I hate the jinx myself, but the mainline repairs have gone down a little bit too so I know. Staff are just going to hit me for saying that, but um but yeah this is a tracking. You can see.

P

uh You can see the blurb in November every quarter. We have to do compliance testing, so this last one in March, I, don't know if we captured all the flows, but usually it's before the end of the quarter that we have to flush the system. So we make sure that we can keep in compliance so and that's just the nature again largely of the distribution system.

P

It's a large large pipes in some cases and a lot of dead end lines without much Demand on it, and that's that's going inherent to just the uh the distribution of our meters.

P

So, moving on to Wastewater flows, um this graph, similar to the first one I showed for water showing the year over year. In this case, we actually added the 2020 flows to waste water. You can see we had a blip in 2020 uh called that sort of the cobit blip when people were staying put and actually not leaving. uh We saw a sort of an increase, but it's more typical is the uh the yellow and the blue on the red were trending a little bit more.

P

So there has been a little bit more growth that we've been seeing, but not that much we're trending about the same. The wastewater treatment plant doesn't see a significant amount of growth. We get a little bit more new customer base. uh Small amount of customers added every year but year over year, were actually not that much there's a challenging plant to operate just because of the lower flows in the summer time.

P

um You know the the temperatures go up a little bit and we don't get the um the biological loading coming down to the treatment plant because Wastewater, as I mentioned, to carry all the time it's a biological process. So we actually have to keep the bugs happy, um the bugs aren't happy when there's no food coming down to them. So it is a challenge for our operational group to keep that plant running with the low flows that we see in the summer time.

P

Next few slides talking about the ranch, mignon and golf course, and what happens there, so we do all the towns effluent currently has to the only place. We have it unless we recharge or send it to the wash, which is more considered Emergency Operations, as we send all the towns Wastewater effluent up to the ranch, Miami Lakes. You also send them the back wash water from the treatment plant as well as we can supplement that with central Arizona project.

P

Water I'd like to let Council, know rushy, setting up a meeting where she could have a meeting with the ranch Manana staff this week to discuss. What's going on at that site in general, the uh there's inefficiencies that we have good tracking on. While we deliver to the one Lake they draw off of the what's referred to up here on the West Lake, that's where their irrigation pump station and the contract states that they don't get charged for the water we deliver to them. They get charged for the water.

P

They pull out of the lake system um for the few years of accounting that we have really good numbers, including the monitoring of the Overflow of the lake system, about third of the water, is currently being lost. That's between the Overflow of the Lakes when we're delivering more water than they can use, and then also between Lake um uh leakage and or evaporation. So we won't have that conversation once especially what's coming up with the discussions on uh reductions in cap water allocations. What might happen here?

P

This is our single biggest water user in the in the water company. So we want to make sure we have those conversations with them. Part of it goes back to some just general inefficiencies again I mentioned the wastewater treatment plant can only deliver water to this location unless there's an emergency where we can overflow to some washes, but if we can figure out a way to say recharge some of that water that would give us a way to, instead of when the Lakes they don't need the water. We can actually recharge that water.

P

So that's the study, we're actually engaging in with Clear Creek Consulting. To actually look at is: is there opportunities within Cave Creek to actually recharge, so that might be requiring this in the capital program? We actually have some construction dollars for doing some improvements next year. We're not sure what the scope is at this point, but we got to start that process to get the balance and check with this, um this user.

D

Can I ask a question Sean.

E

Yes, uh then, if we did recharge within Cave Creek, that would jeopardize our entire recharge program with.

D

P

uh If we do uh with we, if we would draw it if we would draw that water out through the wells, then that that gets into the impacts in the long-term storage credits that we have so we'd have to then offset whatever we withdraw from ground water um from the recharge amount. So it wouldn't impact. That is something we're considering, but my understanding is if we were to recharge and we generate our own storage credits, our own facility, we could do that in conjunction.

E

With the CPU well, that would.

I

Be wonderful, yeah! It's.

P

Just when we get into having to withdraw that water out of the groundwater Wells, it becomes an issue and it's more of an accounting at that point. Okay,.

A

So so for the recharge, would you have to do some kind of secondary filtering the.

P

Treatment plan actually produces what's called Class A Plus, which is the highest level of effluent, um so I don't think we have to we may, depending on the situ. What we do um you know you can do large spreading basins which would look like a lake but effectively you're, sending it in the ground. Let it settle down the a plus water would work fine for that.

P

If we did something like a beta zone or an injection well, we may want to uh filter it a little bit more they're, more subject to uh of the filters Binding off, so it really depends on the method that we want to use.

P

Okay, thank you, and these next slide sort of show what I talked about is sort of the inefficiencies and that's why um again, uh Rancho mignano staffer agreed to meet with Town staff and talk about that. This is the deliveries, the total deliveries for this fiscal year, and these charts are just by fiscal year that we sent to them um between the three sources, which is the uh the little bit of blue, is the raw cap water.

P

Usually, we have to send it up to them during the summer time, and then we have the red, which is the the uh um reclaimed water and divert water at the treatment plan. So that's the process, water from the treatment plant right now the treatment plan we did. The numbers were running about 10 percent of the water that we said we deliver raw water we delivered a plant is, is then rejected through the process. Right now, so we're running about 90 deficiency with the plant, and then we have the treated F1.

P

um This is trying to show the difference between what we deliver total deliveries and then what they're billed for? um Let's see I thought another graph actually shows us a little more clearly. Maybe it doesn't do this. Is it um so? This is the the inefficiencies that we're seeing here. So again, the blue is the combination of the three water supplies that we can send to the Lakes, but they are only billed for the contract on what they draw off the lake, which is the Orange Line you can see like in August.

P

You'd expect them to be higher, but that's due to monsoons. So once the monsoons hit, they don't have to irrigate, but we're still delivering them water. So then, then we get into the awkward situation in the middle of summer, where their Lakes get suddenly full and we're overflowing, which is not a good situation for us, we're not putting that water to beneficial use. So that's part of the discussion is how we think there's some inherent losses in the system, but how? How is the town take charge and get beneficial use out of this water?

P

That's going up there and to better manage because we can't deliver all the water they need during the summer time before the monsoons hit, but in the winter time we deliver more water than they can use. As you can see on this graph in December, January February March, where there, the amount of water that they use for irrigation, is very low compared to what we deliver to them.

A

And that's where you're trying I mean that's, that's the opportunity I mean if you had to summarize everything, we've seen so far the opportunity. Is it the difference of those two numbers?

A

What's uh this is the the recharge that you're talking about.

P

That'd be recharged, you know, there's been discussions on. Can we uh improve the efficiency of the plant? We've looked at you over a year, we actually are getting more efficient. The Palm membranes are an efficient treatment system because you're still also using the the um the West Tech Trident filters, they're less efficient. Those staff have been working and we've actually seen efficiency improvements. So there's we can reduce the amount of backwash water coming out of the plant. That would be beneficial to us.

P

The problem is again in the summertime, especially when they go into say the fall overseeding when they need a lot of water very quickly. We can't make that up for them and then that's when we get into uh right now using the the cap pipeline to deliver them raw water. In the past, the town has actually used groundwater Wells. To supplement that we currently don't have any groundwater Wells fully functional.

P

So that's something we are also looking at too so we're looking at all the options, including talking to them just about the general inefficiencies of what we're seeing as we believe again evaporation and liner losses that are occurring up there, so everything's on the table to discuss with them.

P

um And this is uh uh just a quick summary trying to think where we we measured the uh the losses coming out of the lake where the Overflow is the orange. So we actually do have an overflow meter that we read uh Monday mornings, the staff go up there and actually read it, and then we calculate the evaporation based off the surface area and Maricopa County has an evaporation Pond that they actually um it's at located at Lake Pleasant and they publish that information.

P

So we're actually able to take that information and correlate it and assume that on the surface water, surface area of the Lakes out there and assume how much was not on this is actually well the suit it's on. There assumes pond light seepage, that's something we can't count. We have to calculate, we can't measure, but we uh between we know the losses coming out of that system and we measure all what's coming in.

P

What's leaving so the the leakage seepages the difference about 44 acre feet a year, so we get about one third of the water that we're currently sending up there and that's historical has has not been billed for and it's been, you know, lost from that system, so we do have to work with them to make it more efficient, I'm from a Regulatory Compliance standpoint we do have the town's backflow program.

P

I've talked about this before we've actually switched the backflow Solutions Inc BSI is our third party vendor for doing this, so they've actually just recently updated their software package and we're getting some more uh better graphs and stuff like that, out of them and being able to track usage better. So you can see that's an example of uh between the quarters and the number of past units versus failed. When someone fails, it means that they just have to get a retest. So uh you know this: isn't it's a live sort of data set?

P

So when you see a failed on there, it doesn't mean that we've got failed. Backflows in the system means they had to get a retest within a certain amount of time so and then, with the upgraded system, they're, actually uh we're noticing a lot more compliance. So people seem to like this using the new system better.

P

Another Regulatory Compliance function we have is our pre-treatment program. This is the um the um any removal of anything from the Wastewater system that or anything that a customer would be putting in the Wastewater system that could potentially damage either collection lines or the treatment plant itself. So we've talked about um a switching from it used to be a tracking spreadsheet that we used, um which was gotten very clunky.

P

We had over 50 Plus accounts on it plus it wasn't very useful for keeping track of existing data, so we were using paper files on an Excel spreadsheet, so we we transferred to a company called Swift compliance, a third-party vendor that does this online. So on a grand scheme, we're actually a very small client for them. Typically, they use larger jurisdictions, but it seems to be very user friendly. It gives us a lot of dashboard information about who's, doing what and who's in compliance with it.

P

So we've already seen some good results with it, we're still in the midst of rolling this out to all the customers, we've actually reached out to most of the customers and told them about it. So we've gotten some good feedback from them, so um yeah looking forward to again our two Regulatory Compliance are our pre-treatment and our backflip program are doing very well.

P

um This guy mentioned about the Carefree disconnect. So this is a graphic that shows the customers that actually are being removed from the system. uh So in total is 550 customers uh to be removed from the three areas area. We call them neighborhood a b and c neighborhood C has been fully disconnected uh for a while. It was done uh early last year or mid last year, uh neighborhood B there's still a few customers aren't in b um our Nighthawk and and Hawks Nest area.

P

um Carefree needs to do a Improvement to a booster Pump Station before they can get the pressure zones up to the point that they can take that over and then neighborhood a is the one where the most work has been going on. People may have noticed the work on Carefree Highway, so most of the accounts were actually transferred um a few weeks ago. So at this point, 510 of the 550 accounts have been transferred and are actually uh getting water from carefree and no longer connected to the K freak system.

P

The work that you've saw on Cave Creek Road from Carefree Highway going North was they actually had to do five Crossings across Cave Creek Road to supply water, to the commercial Corners to the low CVS store Quest um just north of there. They just are wrapping up the connection, the crossing at New, River, Road and then they're right now, at Canyon, Breeze or Canyon I think it's Canyon Breeze and that's the last Crossing location and disconnect location.

P

Once all that work is done, they're waiting on their their Reservoir that they built at Tom Darlington before they can actually provide all of those customers, especially the commercial customers, with the fireflow that they need. So we had a meeting with them today. They think it's probably another three plus months before they're finally wrapped up, but the majority of the customers have been cut over and, as indicated in my water slide, is we're starting to see an impact on the system with a reduction in the valley.

P

A volume of water that we've had to send to the system.

P

um So our Water Resources update um I've got some notes, I'm going to talk about because we did some updates. This is this is a hot topic for us right now. um This is trying to show about just our cap deliveries and orders that we've placed so far and where we are in our the nine months of the of the current fiscal year, you know we're uh a total to deal we're on total about uh just under 1400 acre feet delivered to customers.

P

uh That puts us on track to about 2 000 acre feet for the year, which is what we projected um you've seen that column on the side we actually have in the middle column, says water to recharge. We've been very successful in getting water recharged with the cap um because of the transfer this year of the the municipal and Industrial water rights is not complete, yet it should be complete here and it's actually with the Bureau of Reclamation for finance signatures.

P

But we worked out with Carefree that, since we we paid for that water, the beginning of the year, we paid the capital delivery expenses they allowed us to. um We agreed to put that into our recharge, so see in January we had 378 acre feet, recharged on the town's behalf. That was the the water that Carefree wasn't going to need after the uh the transfer so for this year. So that was a bonus for us. So the end of this year, we expect to do some more recharge.

P

This August we'll have about 2 000 acre feet in in long-term storage credits, recharge for the town, which is a great thing, um and then at the bottom line here we talked about we're working on forecasts and impacts any future cap shortages. That's the big thing! That's really stressing out!

P

Everybody right now is: what's potentially going to happen with our cap, the town is uh not 100 but close enough to 100 reliant on our cap, Water Supplies, that's both our Municipal and Industrial water, which is what the the town actually has uh so which the new allocation is 2228, acre feet or our non-eating agricultural water, which we secured two years ago. It's uh 378 acre feet and that was purchased and paid for for to help support the surface water needs of Desert Hills.

P

um As of this year, we've already as the shortage last year, we we were not able to order all the the Nia water. We were only able to get 75, but moving forward, there's uh potential that uh we won't not only uh reduce the Nia water, but there's discussions on potentially um uh reducing all the cap. Water centralizure, Project water coming to Arizona, so there's multiple Alternatives being suggested at this point.

P

The most extreme is almost a 45 cut in the Arizona cap water for next year, which could have a very drastic impact for the town. It's a huge impact for the town, so we're trying to figure out how we could potentially overcome that. That is one alternative and I, don't want to say, that's the only alternative, there's multiple being suggested at this point, but that's the most extreme, so uh um we're working very closely with what the impacts could be and how the town can overcome that we are working.

P

uh We've actually already kicked off our utility master plan, it's an integrated master plan, so the first aid is what we've been focused on for. Actually, the last couple months is both water supply and future demand and projection. So the team has been looking at this.

P

We knew this was coming and we've looked at it now we're on the stage of now that we know the potential of what this can be, as the team is helping us identify options, and so we have a very good team with glocken beach and they've got a subconsultant who's doing a lot of work and he's worked in the water industry for 30 years in Arizona. In addition to that we're working on um last year, it's actually a year ago, we brought the water, storage and drought management plan to council for that adoption.

P

So we have the plan so we're just wrapping up some code revisions that will bring forward to council. The code revisions allow us, uh the the power of council and staff to then um actually enforce some of the things that that plan suggested, which is when we get into shortage conditions. We may have to first ask and then get into the case of actually require customers to actually reduce their water usage.

P

So we need to have some code revisions to allow us fully to enforce that so that'll be coming forward here shortly in the next few meetings for Council to adopt Sean.

A

How soon uh with the Neptune meters and the meter change out, how soon will we be in a position where we'd have more real-time monitoring of individual water consumption? Ironically,.

P

We just had a meeting with Neptune today, they're demoing their software package to us. um uh If we get, we currently have 600 000 in the CIP on of town resources to start the meter change out program and we're expecting to get a half million dollars in Federal grant dollars with that much money, and we have about 1800 meters to change out uh I think we could get it done in six months if we really hit it strongly.

P

um We talked to the vendor. We've talked to uh both the supply side of getting the meters that they're available and then we've also have the um the installation side. So we've talked to uh both the um the Neptune supplier can actually provide staff and there's some other companies in the valley that can help us. The staff supplement it so and then the one thing is backing us up is: what's called The Collector. So what we're trying to move towards is called an Ami system.

P

We have what's called an AMR, it's a drive-by system, so the people don't have to get out of the truck they can drive by it's it's a little radio transponder. That's putting out a signal and telling you how much water is being used, and we picked that up. We do that monthly. We draft the drive-by an Ami system actually allows us to put collectors up or in addition to that, the new technology recountability this is. They use a little cellular antenna that actually it's sending the signal out on a hourly or a basis.

P

The software package we just got demo today is the actual customer interface that allow customers to see that information, so they can log in and customers can actually set their own thresholds. So they can see that so that software packages in the beta such that it should be released next week or sorry next month and we're actually going to get the pricing on to implementing that for our Neptune meters. But the met two meters itself we're all geared up we're trying to hit this as fast as we can.

P

We expect to get the Federal grant dollars the water smart monies, but if we don't I think we should be able to get through, probably 60 to 70 percent of the meters on our own and start that conversion and my goal is to really push and use contractors get that done as quick as we can, because I do think that getting um down to a customer level. Detailed metering would be a good thing for conservation for this town and we can help inform customers. We don't want to be punitive with customers.

P

We want to basically inform them and I think getting that detail will help them make decisions and and we'll find things like leaks earlier, and they can be notified earlier because we will be looking at it also and tracking. What's going on in this system, so it'll be really good for us. It's very long-winded answer to a short question. So sorry mayor and then we are working on our general Outreach efforts, so um we're trying to do General to all customers like sessions like this, where we can point out.

P

You know the severity of what might be happening. um We're looking at uh we want to do some Focus efforts on our high water customers, um because that's where I think their biggest bang for the dollar is, you know our largest water user in Desert. Hills is the school district out there. The uh the Desert Hills Elementary School is our largest customer. So it can.

P

You know we need to have a sit down with them and see what they could potentially do to help save water out there so and there's some other high water users, both systems, so we're working with staff to make sure we identify that and look at what focused Outreach we can do, but in general, if we get down to you, know the the significant the the what I call the nuclear option uh like 45 cut and cap allocations.

P

That's that's going to impact everybody, but specifically Cave Creek will have a big impact, so we need to be prepared for that. So just today, there's actually a meeting on from the Bureau of Reclamation, because they're doing what's called an seis I had to write this out a draft supplemental environmental impact statement.

P

um It was the second meeting on on the operation of the Colorado River, so that's actually, the Bureau of Reclamation actually manages we follow underneath Bureau of reclamations and how they're actually they're proposing to manage the the lakes and the river and Colorado River. So we want to get a statement over to the federal government and saying you know, don't forget Cave Creek. This is very important to us.

P

We don't have the luxury of long-term storage products recharge or a lot of Wells that we can fall back onto which a lot of the other municipalities in the valley have. So it's very important for us. Yeah.

N

Regarding that.

A

Have you have we actually taken a look at what our water table looks like in case we had to drill a couple Wells.

P

Actually, last year we did some initial evaluation on some of the wells. uh We, the vendor, is going to come back and he's got some time. I actually reached out to him. Last week he's going to come back out. We actually need to clean some of the casings, uh so we're going to do some brushing and baling next month. Next few weeks he had some time and then we're actually The Next Step will be of the six casings that we think might be viable.

P

The, Next Step will be to to identify some, if not all, to do pump testing that'll allow us to both check the volume of water available in those little casings and the water quality. We do have some old water quality data and in some cases there is high arsenic so we'd have to before we can bring it into a Municipal Water System. We have to figure out what we do with that or if we we, maybe that becomes some of the water that we use to supplement our deliberacy branch of Manana but yeah.

P

We are continuing that evaluation drilling a well these days from a municipal standpoint. You know it is a fairly expensive proposition and getting someone on board so we're going to see what we can do with the casings that we do have, but we might have to go that option also yeah.

A

I, just think it'd be wise to you know, get an approximate price on that in case.

A

We have to go down that route, because yeah talking with some friends back in Washington, DC they're, saying that that uh the current Administration wants to cut 25 percent of the overall allocation to at a minimum to California Arizona Colorado and the other, the other people who pull water from the Colorado River, because they want to recharge both of the reservoirs and then they'll consider not that they will but they'll consider increasing or decreasing that 25 percent cut at some point in the future. You.

P

Think if it's 25 with the way our allocations right now, we might be, we should be able to weather that, as we start talking larger percentages. That makes me very nervous, but it does mean we need to start looking at backup options. That's provided that we.

A

Kind of put a moratorium on building things correct.

P

um Yeah we'd have to look at the growth in the system and- and you know we have uh with the water 2021 water policy. We have greatly reduced the number of new connections at 11 Hills, but the Cape Creek systems. There was some growth, it's not that significant, but there would be enough to have a discussion. We'd come back is we'd have to say you know: can we allow new growth and new connections to the system so yeah?

P

That would be something we'd have to bring back to council and discuss so um mayor jumped ahead and brought me in there. One of the things I want to highlight with our distribution improvements is the improvements in the Neptune metering system, so the town went to installing Neptune meters out in the Desert Hills system in about 2012., um and the project was wrapped up. There's 1900 Desert Hills customers, so that project was completed around 2000 um 19, just as I was coming on board I think the last 60 meters went in the system.

P

The Neptunes are very reliable, they've proven to be very good and we can convert them uh most of the ones, not all the ones. In Desert Hills and to what the Ami system, so the staff have been struggling uh in the last few months is because of the number of failed meters in the Cave Creek System. Most of our meters are are 2005 or earlier meters, and then they also the radio transponder, which is a separate unit, is also around the same vintage SO.

P

For a while, we had a running total of over 100 failed meters in the system where the meter body was failed and or the radio transponder was failed. So after we went around and did our re drive-by radio readings, the staff would spend two to three days just going out manually, reading meters, where they could and or identified meters that had failed that per code after two months we can estimate, but we actually, then we can't estimate anymore. So we have to get them out of the system.

P

So we were able to get past that backlog and now we're at the point where um we're seeing typically around 30 meters in Cave Creek failing a month. So my goal is, with the meat replacement program, to hit that as hard as we can and just get them out of the system and get past that, but uh if credit to the staff and then we did bring an outside contractor to help us get ahead of ahead of what we're back in Cave Creek.

P

We've actually had to do that twice now, um because we had so many failed and uh yep and again, like I, mentioned about the software package that we did, which is something that we can make available through our website to the town website and or our building paying system. We could have it so that the people can see their bill and consumption data.

P

It's really interesting, especially when we get into the more when if we can get to the hourly read system the Ami system, customers will see that information and again they can set alarms for themselves and everything even right now, with our monthly read um that data will be in there'll, have two two years worth of data that they can see, and we can look at and it's it's. The demo is very user friendly. So we're excited about that uh quickly in the distribution system was again um as part of the Carefree disconnects.

P

We actually had to bring in existing pressure reducing valve site uh uh at um Canyon Ridge Drive online. This is so it doesn't show you the the amount of work that was done here. You can see the old prv site, which actually took us a a couple of days to find because it was so varied. It had been turned off about 12 years ago, so we dug up the entire area and installed the new uh prv and bolt. Actually they weren't new.

P

They were actually used, so they were actually ones that were on the east side of the road that, as Carefree, was doing their work. They changed the pressure, Zone boundaries. They didn't need this anymore, so they they worked with us and we salvaged both the pressure reducing valve rebuilt, it our staff, and then we had the Vault move over this side of the road. So it turned out. It was a good project that we worked together collaboratively with. We used their contractor Aiken Gardner.

P

We had a job order contract that we can work with them, and this helps the system uh work a little bit better. In the past we were relying on a six inch. Prv, that's around the corner, that's being abandoned, so we have now eight inch prv in the long, so it actually gave us a little more system capacity to move water from zone four to Zone one so benefited us.

P

uh The wastewater treatment plants they're still continuing to do some work. These are some photos. I've talked about the work in the spr basins and the aeration system, so that is now complete. uh She was just wrapping up as of the the time frame of this. This report, uh it's kind of hard to see the collapse tubing, but yeah. We had a lot of issues with the aeration system um and but the divers were able to go in. We, it was interesting. We did it live, um they were doing everything by feel.

P

I was talking to them. They you can't see anything down there and they're going down and taking these things apart, we use the same divers to clean out our water reservoirs, but they obviously use different suits and we cleaned them up. First.

P

But they're really good team and they've worked out really well and that it's we've seen a marked improvement in in the uh the um the biological treatment basins at the plant. Because of that uh the collection system for the time frame. This report, we actually did uh do a cleaning on the north side of Cave Creek Road between vermician Schoolhouse roads.

P

uh The lines were dirty, they needed to be cleaned out, um but we're finding is a lot of deterioration, the manhole bases themselves, so I suspect it was more just the concrete that was used in the bases, um rather than the severe deterioration due to the H2S gases, but it doesn't mean that we need to get into these manholes and and form them up properly, because they're holding up material which then causes odors in the system.

P

The other thing that we're actually working on as part of this year's Capital Improvement program is a repair on Rancho Manana Boulevard. We do have a 12 inch line. That's just Upstream of our Rancho mini on a list station that there's a section of ductile iron, pipe that we didn't know until we videoed it because it didn't show up any plans, but it's a wash crossing. That's highly deteriorated and there's a dip in the line just south of it.

P

So we're working with a b, f, Contracting Council has given us the authority to work with them as our Construction contract director for sewer repairs, so they're working on the scope of work and the goal is to get that done before the end of June. With this year's Capital program to get that 12 inch obstruction out of the system next year. Our goal is to do a crossing. That's an indoor Hills, wash right next to Cave Creek Road, where we have a 12 inch duct of liners who are lined Us in problems.

P

So those would be two big improvements in the collection system and then we do have money to do to clean, inspect and also do manual, repairs and everything so I think we're making great strides on the collection system and and getting caught up on some deferred maintenance.

P

As part of our master plan as quickly as we actually did in flow flow meters at the site so as we're actually updating the Wastewater model, so this gives you an idea of having to do a manned entry, so we can put in a monitor, so we actually see the live data at the different flow basins that we do have at the three lift stations, which gives us a lot more detail on where the water is coming from and allows us to come up with projections on you know, as growth occurs, because now we know what the current customer basis is returning and flow to us and the water treatment plant has has a lot of work done on it.

P

This is improvements that we had to do to our our West. Tech number four might be hard to see, but this is the upflow clarify the first section, um so we've had issues with all three of them. The uh two and and one were repaired. Prior to this, and then we've been inside of all three and we've, uh the metal is deteriorated. The code interior Coatings have been eaten away, so stat have to remove all the material we get down.

P

We sand plastic area, grind it down and weld on new material, and then we recode it and reinstall it. So we've actually touched all all three of those filters in the last two years.

P

Again most we had one we used a contractor for, but the other two have actually been done with Town staff, um just an update on the the uh the Water Treatment the cap pipeline. What you're looking at here is a what's called an air relief valve. So as a water line goes up and down uh air wool former at the high spots, you actually want to actually get that out of the system, because that actually can cause a blockage in the system.

P

So the cat pipeline being over 12 miles the line and Rises over 600 feet has a number of air Elite valves, trying to remember I. Think it's 36 different locations that we have. This is one that we ironically had just recently rebuilt a contractor did a deceleration Lane and had to remove the original one. So we put it in. We thought we were doing a good thing by putting it in a above ground, so we could better maintain it, um but lo and behold, because we put it above ground, someone drove over it yeah.

P

So um this actually uh because that happened, it was in uh City Phoenix, right away. uh We found it because, when The Operators started to try to start the pipeline that next morning he couldn't get the pipes to the pumps to work, so we went down, we found it, I had to isolate it, and then we had to bleed the line off. So it's it's one of the risks and one of the failure points that keeps me up at night uh worrying about. How is this?

P

You know the the ability for us to provide water and show us the importance, I, think of the City of Phoenix interconnect that we won't be wholly reliant on this one pipeline sending water. So we can obviously still something we need to address, but we can breathe instead of doing this live in this case, we uh it took a long time to get the air out of the line and get the plant operational.

P

We had to run probably an extra six or seven hours that day to get the water into the system that we needed so.

P

um Leading it to the City of Phoenix interconnect, you've seen some renderings uh We've produced we're actually working on a package to send out to the neighbors. uh This is one actually looking for Cave Creek Road. We have some from the side uh that are showing again before and after uh sort of the the grading profile will look like and what you'll see uh and then what will look like once we get some Landscaping in there it matures up. This is looking from Southbound on Cave Creek Road.

P

As you just come approaching the site so you'll see the reservoir there and the the the site wall is actually containing the uh the bleach storage system for uh chlorine injection and the booster Pump Station. So again we have some renderings from the back side, which show the landscape berm and then what they'll look before and after that we'll send out as a package to the residents in the area. So uh we have um uh Carey indicated we reached out to get Congressional direct funding for this project. uh We think we will be successful.

P

We had a meeting on April 19th with the water infrastructure, Finance Authority from their with it's their Federal programs committee, and tomorrow morning we actually have a meeting with their their board. um That will be the if they approve at that point, then then we just moved forward with coming back to council to actually authorize the loan documents, and that would give us the authority with the water infrastructure Finance Authority. So it's all coming together. We do have the construction manager at risk.

P

I need to come back with you with the contract for the selected firm that we'd like to move forward with, and then black and beach has been wrapping up design and mostly these renderings, who are a little bit in a holding pattern. While we sort out the funding issues on the project right now, but we're still committed to doing the project so and with that I can answer any questions. I did have just a quick I know: I've talked a long time a couple of public service announcements.

P

Next Thursday we actually have a couple of big things going on in the morning. We have a repair at our Stagecoach lift station. People probably will not notice that, but you might see some activity on Schoolhouse, Road or sorry, Cave, Creek, Road and I. Think it's along rightful uh where the station is located. uh We have the the one of the check balances failed, so the site's been only operating on one one of the two pumps.

P

We actually removed the check valve, but when they constructed the site they did not put an isolation valve in the Force main. So we have to drain back a um I think it's 2800 foot four inch Force main to the site and then put in an isolation valve in order to replace the check valve.

P

So we can run it and the flow meters failed so that's Thursday morning and then that evening APS is actually wanting to replace a Transformer at our Carroll Heights booster station Carol Heights is important because it actually feeds into two pressure zones. We can backfeed our pressure, Zone Seven, which is the main Town core through the Neri system, but we actually have a number of customers that are pressure zone. Eight, that might be impacted, staff.

P

Think they've located a temporary generator that we can pick to the site, so we can actually, while APS is changing out to service engines, we can keep Zone 8 and water. We haven't put out a public notice right now because we're hoping to be able to get a generator up there, so we could keep the zone eight uh people in water. We probably we'll put out a notice just in case anybody does get affected and something does happen.

P

They'll probably be released tomorrow, but we we think we found a solution to keep everybody wet and water. So APS the Transformers film they've basically notified us and they basically picked the date that they said we'll come out and replace it so we're working around them. So with that I can answer any questions.

D

E

D

E

Sean Do, you have a magic pill to fill all your staff positions and have them stay.

P

Mayor council, member I wish advice mayor, I wish I.

D

Know I was being facetious, but do you have any.

E

Kind of a plan now you're going to resolve.

P

Yeah we usually we've recently had some luck because we've actually reached out to some people we've used before and we've we've brought some people on board as part-time part-time employees, and we did that because of risk management. So we actually have three people who are currently part-time employees to help fill in at the water treatment plant. So that's giving us a benefit because they can have a little more flexibility in their schedule to fill the odd schedule. Locations um Everybody I've talked to in the industry is struggling right now.

P

um You know: we've we've looked at uh salary compensation, everybody's fighting for the same people and we're all throwing more money at it. So a lot of jurisdictions are offering signing bonuses they're, offering higher ranges. So we've tried to match the ranges to make sure we're competitive. You know we're a small jurisdiction on the edge of the valley, so in some cases people have to drive a fair distance to get out of here. So that's part of the discussion too. So um yeah there I don't see a magic pill.

P

There's a little was made because we actually had a few water treatment plants staff that we had sort of grown in the fact that they didn't uh have their full licensing certification grades that they needed and we stayed with them for two years. While they got their licenses, they got their licenses. We gave them a step increase for getting that license and then a leverage that to go to another municipality get another step increase. So.

A

One thing you might want to consider doing is offering things like a housing allowance, um but they take the housing allowance. They've got to stay for a year or two years or whatever that, but a housing allowance might be something that would lure them up here to keep them here and.

P

We're speaking of all things, mayor council is uh yeah. We we have looked at. We I think we looked at the City of Phoenix standard. If they, if you get a bonus, you have to commit, otherwise you have to reimburse them so between bonuses or some other things.

P

Trustee a lot of people again, we've been working I see uh Carl over there, she's really been helping us with our Outreach efforts, because you know the town actually has really good employee benefits, and sometimes it's hard to communicate that between the health savings, account plan and and things like a lot of people that come up here and they say well, I didn't know you're a part of C retirement. Well, yeah.

P

You know we want to highlight that um because then, if they're in another state retirement, they come here and it just transfers and they continue to grow. So we've done a lot of Outreach and just trying to promote um uh uh all our the benefits that we can't provide to people. We do have a tuition reimbursement program. You know we if they're on call, there's mileage reimbursement. We've done, we've actually upped the uniform allowance for the people. We don't provide uniforms but provide people with an allowance to buy boots and and other clothing.

P

So we provide shirts and jackets but uh pants, but we opt out. We doubled the amount of that from 250 to 400 500 little things like that. That I think anything that we can help incentivize it so but yeah the.

A

Biggest single thing, though, up here in Cave Creek, that they're going to face is housing. You know, so, if you give them a housing allowance that at least equals the playing field with some of the other jurisdictions.

D

I think that's a really good idea. Good.

A

P

We're going to put an RV, it's a plant, you just let them live there, but.

B

It might be some FEMA trailers available.

D

A

uh There's simply comment on this: we.

C

Do David Phelps, okay? Well, that's it.

A

Next item on the agenda is presentation of the quarterly fire and emergency medical report.

I

A

We're going to try and share the mic tonight, since we thought Council.

K

G

You all known each other for quite a while yeah.

K

I'm trying to be real, friendly.

K

H

K

We're gonna try.

A

To make this pretty quick for you and give you the opportunity to ask us questions, but there's a couple.

K

Of things that are out there, obviously one of the big things that was hanging.

A

Over us was the Carefree boat, we'll talk about that a little bit at the end, if you like, if you have questions about that on the biggest thing with that, is we want to make sure that um you and the capric residents understand the depth of the system that we have here and don't believe all the stuff that was put out a lot of.

K

Misinformation that was put out so we'll be happy to answer any of those questions for.

A

You but first we'll go through the uh quickly we'll go through the quarterly report. Again, this is for the the what would be the third quarter of the fiscal year and so the numbers that you see um from the last time, what I've changed.

K

Is we're now running fistful.

A

Numbers, if you recall last time, because if we had our one year anniversary, so we had an entire calendar year. So you got a calendar year report, but this is now updated to the fiscal year in each calendar year. I'll give you a new update every floor, but this is where we're at.

K

um January through or on July.

A

K

A

The Florida is January through March.

K

Talking trying to talk too fast here and I apologize.

A

And you can see the numbers that we had here again. uh There's 172 calls for the quarter, we're still running about 57 calls per month in out of Cave Creek, and one of the questions that came up was how many of those calls it's been spouted here lately. How many of those calls are to other jurisdictions, because the claim was your truck's never going to be in the town.

A

Well, we run about four calls a month to another jurisdictions, but in the meantime we end up getting um well over 500 calls to or resources come to, Cave Creek. So we get a lot more than go out. So that's one of the issues that would come up.

A

um You can see the training with one of our as part of our contract. We track the training art to make sure that the EMS and fire training is done. The types of calls are fairly consistent for the quarter again. Ems is our number one call type we did have several um Special Operations, Trail rescues, service calls and 17 fires in the court last year. To date you know so we had 57 fires so far, 42 service called and then again the trail rescues that we've been having and they're starting to pick up again.

F

A

That it's not just Trail rescues, but it's special rescue this, like the um the water rescue that had occurred here in a couple about a month ago now, Chief told when we'll be talking about that here in a little bit, so our types of calls are staying, the same. Here's, the big things that happen during the quarter. We did our one year anniversary and you got the data on the number of calls we had. We were officially approved for a firehouse Foundation Grant in February, Council approved it in February for 28 000..

A

um In fact, talking today with those folks about where that equipment is, we haven't, got it yet um the insurance grading Community again. This is another thing. That's been missing, uh interpreted with the things that are going on between the communities. Cave Creek did a complete grading of our insurance greeting and that's where the insurance ISO comes in and verse that comes in and they they rate your service levels and they rate how fast you can get the number of units that you need to to a fire and things like that.

A

Your water system is part of it. Your dispatch is part of it. Your Staffing is part of it. We increased an entire grading system. The scale goes from a 10 which is basically no service to a one which is there's somebody almost on every quarter corner, and so we went from a four to a three raw Metro was the previous four went from a four to a three and primarily because of our dispatch and our our resources that now come to this community is what what made that reading go up.

A

That grading goes into effect, I believe it's August 1st, so that information has gone out to the insurance companies. So we did a very nice uh very happy with that um February. We tried to assist the Carefree Council talking about our experiences, because there was so much misinformation being uh dispatched up there about what actually occurred in Cave Creek. So we tried to let them know. This is not our real experience. This is what actually happened.

A

We participated with the forest service and the Cooperators meeting, but that is hosted by the Toronto National Forest to look at the upcoming Wildland Fire season, there's a handout that you just got talked about what occurs now. If we have a brush bar and then in March we had some heavy rain events.

A

Again we did our resident brush drop off, and so we've had two each year so far, six events we totaled 537 loads and over 127 tons of green waste that we've collected and we can and I will get that number for how much that cost us to to empty that. But that's our only cost is The Dumping of the green waste. The rest is covered by the time staff.

A

um We opened our most recent fire survey which closed yesterday and then we participated in the rodeo and parade events, and then we ended the quarter with the bike week, which is always a challenge and again worked very close with uh Asian mountain and the Maricopa County Sheriffs and the staffs we brought in, and we had, in my estimate estimation a very, very successful, Bike Week, there's a lot of people that come through there's a lot of happenings in town and we didn't have any major events. We didn't end up on CNN.

A

So that's the good thing that we look at so with that. um What I want to do is turn some of this over to Chief Tobin. To talk about some of these significant events that occurred of this quarter and we can go with that. We'll start with the water rescue.

N

Thank you, Jim Marin, Council, I. Think I was here uh after this incident uh briefly, but I don't think it was on the agenda to do so.

N

um This incident took place on March, 22nd, 2023 I, know you're all aware of it, because it was all over the news, both locally Statewide and uh the national news, a very significant incident early in the morning on the 22nd around seven o'clock in the morning where there was a very legitimate water rescue um where two construction workers were purged on the top of their construction, pickup truck with raging High, Raging Waters that were Rising.

N

um So this call went out as a water rescue, which is a significant danger to Firefighters and other First Responders, trying to attempt to make these rescues to complicate matters. It was during a rainstorm, so our partners, both in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and their Fox helicopter and our partners in the automatic Aid system with the Phoenix Police helicopter Firebird helicopter, were not able to lift off because of the visibility.

N

So uh that was basically our main plan, because, despite the fact that that's a aircraft operation, it's fairly safe to do so in the right conditions, but they were not able to lift off so we utilized the aerial platform ladder truck from the Daisy Mountain Fire District ladder 145 was dispatched and you can see them in the top left picture, setting up their ladder to reach out to those gentlemen that were on that pickup truck.

N

You can also see the partners that, in these pictures, that were there, the Scottsdale white pickup truck is the battalion chief that was running the incident. There were multiple specialized units from the Phoenix fire department, including the unit south of the Carefree Highway on Cave Creek Road, Squad 29, which is trained and as best list and water rescue, not just from a First Responders perspective, but they were highly trained technical rescued folks. They were all responded to make this a safe, an incident as we possibly could create.

N

We had Rescuers uh on the back end or the far end of the water in case the either a first responder or one of these victims fell off the truck that we could rescue them from the water's edge and we had Lookouts up on the on a upside of the water, and we had firefighters on both sides of that incident, as we could. So it was very significant. It ended up, ended up being a well-planned and well executed. Rescue of these two individuals off the top of that vehicle.

N

By the way this car was further swept down that wash after that rescue took place. So it was a very significant and very dangerous operation that turned out very well for for all of us so and again got not only just local attention but national attention. Ironically, a few hours after this, the Daisy Mountain Fire District, was up in Yavapai County and Black Canyon City, where they were anticipating a flooding in the entire town.

N

As one of the washes was overcome, one of the major rivers was flowing at record flood levels and we were setting up evacuation centers in Black Canyon City. For the residents there, our cert team put up a uh a trailer and assisted with an evacuation site there before the Red Cross arrived.

N

So in the morning we were in Cave Creek doing this water rescue in in your town, and then we were up in Yavapai County, helping out the residents up in Black cane City, just to further bring you up to speed on how the system works as a result of the uh of the concern of what was happening in Black Canyon City, the Phoenix fire department staged units at the outlet mall at Carefree at the I-17 and Anthem again specialized units from uh from their system.

N

In the event that something happened up in Black Kansas City that required Swift water, rescue and Swift boats. Those units were staged there in the event that they were needed about 25 minutes away. If we needed to call on them, they would have been there. Those are Statewide resources that are covered under federal grants that come into the state that assist our region for these types of incidents. So uh that's just another example of of how the resources come into play. Within the automatic Aid System.

K

A

Only thing I'll say to that is: underneath you see the list of units that came to that. One call, and everybody asks why so many more resources are in Cave Creek than the number of calls. That's. Why that one incident had all of those resources that were dispatched for that incident that we now get because we're part of the regional system.

I

N

We can't touch it yeah, so.

A

O

N

A

For all that, you moved the problem.

A

um The other couple of things we wanted to talk about real quick is again some of the misinformation out there. um I I believe it went to you earlier, if not I can get it to Kerry tomorrow. Talking about the response times that have been talked about the lack of timing and response, um what has occurred next door. Unfortunately, if you listen to the comments, it sounds like they're going to shut down their fire station because, just like we did here, we bought this fire station.

A

We put the resources in from Daisy Mountain and the call distances and the call volumes are about the same so to make the comment that their response times were going to go up and our citizens are going to be less served is a ridiculous statement because they're not gonna, they weren't going to shut down that fire station, and so it was so blatant that the City of Phoenix and um Chief Duran from Phoenix who's in uh one of the co-chairs of the kausk of the central Arizona Life Safety Committee, had to write a letter to Carefree saying this is really really bad.

A

What you're saying is not even close to true and so there's a letter from as Carrie got a letter here a couple years ago. Care for got a letter saying what's being set up here in Carefree is so far off that we have to respond. They didn't want to respond, but they had to respond, and that letter is available to you is public record. So.

D

Just to clarify Jim, yes, the town of Carefree was erroneously communicating information. It.

A

Was the citizens? Let's Carefree it was the you had the two sides up there, but everything was in the paper and everything was being transmitted to the town for the town to respond, which is by the mayor and Carrie and I went up there early on and then I made one extra trip, I'm trying to say what you're saying about the the response and about the system in Cave Creek is absolutely false.

A

A lot of good, it did obviously was the vote tonight we saw, but um it's just the their the comments for the sum of the notebooks were so off base and so out of line that it and those listeners response again from the region. Saying sorry about that, so um the next thing that we wanted to talk about is the severity of the brush Staffing.

A

um We have staffed up starting on Monday May 1st, so you have the two extra Staffing for the severity. Now we haven't gone I believe Kerry mentioned earlier that we're going to increase our risk level. Next week, we've been blessed with some cool weather until just recently and some rain.

A

So but that's going to go up, but the staffing has already gone up, and so actually you have four persons on the engine, two on the brush, two on the Battalion ride and two in the ambulance at this station currently, and so it's a pretty full house over there right now for 10 hours a day.

A

So um what was handed out to you um Chief Philip and got me the dispatches and what happens when there is a call for a brush fire now in Cave Creek before you got one engine and one brush struck, and you saw what happened here a few years ago with the resources of that. So you have two things on there. You have there and I'll. Let him talk about it. You have the urban interface response and you have a typical brush response and how that can grow up and that's what's coming now to Kia Creek.

A

If we get the call for an incident or a structure under.

N

Thanks Jim and again, I know it's a lot of information. Certainly you can you could read the the information that I provided, which is the standard operating procedures inside the regional dispatch system, on the types of incidents and the number of units that have dispatched to those, um so that you can see for yourself the uh the with the need for immediate uh the quickest most available units to respond with the appropriate equipment, drugs, water tenders um and officers to organize the workers.

N

If you can save engine companies are all included in our brush, Wildland firefighting response, in addition to that Daisy Mountain firefighters are all red card certified as Wildland firefighters as well, so they have even more knowledge than where I came from before, which was almost almost entirely structural fire department, although certainly started to move in through Wildland and movement interface, but Daisy Mountain by the nature of us. Looking a lot like Cave Creek, we have red carded, Wildland, firefighters that are State, Certified, firefighters as well.

N

So um there's more than enough response uh on initial unit on initial dispatch and any instant Commander can request additional resources and they'd be available as the most appropriate unit inside of an automatic system.

D

How did the training program go at the old tumble read.

N

It was amazing, so of course firefighters always liked the practice um and whenever you get the opportunity to get an actual structure that you can uh do your do.

N

Your trade on is very, very helpful, plus it's an opportunity for our company officers to teach our government members about how construction methods and how buildings are constructed in a Hands-On approach to an actual real building, as opposed to a model or a mock-up and those uh those situations where we can practice on real buildings or set into none when it comes to having real, good, effective training. We really appreciated that opportunity is.

A

On the demolition crews started to work again Monday morning we had it through Sunday night for training, and then they started again Monday morning, so we won't be training on it anymore. They.

N

Get right on it once you're done, because it becomes dangerous foreign.

A

Again, this is It's and I hate doing this I hate responding to social media, but according to the social media, with the issues that were going on in Carefree, um you guys and councilman. You guys, I'm.

A

Sorry mayor Counseling in my team, aware that there was a pretty significant fire at the chip plant over off of McCarthy, Highway and I-17 here about a week and a half ago or so, and according to the social media, all of the trucks from Daisy Mountain in Phoenix, everybody was over there and the town was left completely uncovered for an extended period of time, and that's again was just pattern, be false and so I'll, let the chief respond to that. But um the system is designed to help cover for those types of incidents.

A

So, yes, our truck might have went over there, but there was additional move-ups that covered different parts of this area and I'll. Let him respond to that. Yes,.

N

um Mayor and members of the council, the way the automatic Aid System is is designed is at the closest most appropriate unit is dispatched to an instant regardless of their jurisdiction. So just because you have Daisy Mountain firefighters on your fire truck here at in Cave Creek doesn't mean that you're, a fire truck and Cave breed goes anywhere any different than a firefighter would in another city. Just because it's on a Daisy Mountain track doesn't mean that he goes to Black Canyon City before someone else would it has nothing to do with any of that.

N

So in this situation was a very complex incident. Unfortunately, I was out of town in Indianapolis was watching it on my phone, but it was obviously the chip plan. There's a lot of energy associated with that type of construction and potential hazardous materials that might be on site and and the types of buildings. It is. It's also a Homeland Security risk for not just our state, but our country as well. So there was an initial response to that incident.

N

uh Early information showed uh were relayed back was that there were missing workers, six people that could not be accounted for and with an unknown reason that this incident had occurred. So there's a lot and there's a pessimistic approach that was taken to the incident to keep not just the firefighters safe, but to also try and set up for the potential of having a large-scale mass casualty incident. So a lot of units were respond, responded to that and specialized units as well as you can imagine.

N

Water supply water issues, weren't very good in a construction yard. So in an incident where you had a working fire, potentially there you needed to make sure you had layered responses so that the incident could be contained adequately. There were a lot of units that responded there, not just from Phoenix and Daisy Mountain and Glendale and Peoria.

N

We had a lot of units that were there um so there's an automatic system built in place that, when that number of units is dispatched to a specific incident, that the Dispatch Center, the regional Dispatch Center begins to move resources around the system to cover the holes and to make sure that there's adequate response to as many facilities as we can. Does that mean every one of them has a fire truck unit.

N

It does not, because that would be the equivalent of lifting up a blanket and exposing your feet and pulling it back down and exposing your head. So we try and balance uh the units they do it. The Dispatch Center moves units around so that we have adequate coverage in all of the areas that are necessary.

N

So in this specific case uh station that I had just mentioned before the the technical team on K3 Pro south of Carefree Highway, Station 72, was also dispatched to that engine because their hazardous material certified members I had members from my hazardous materials team, it's stationed at at 7th Street and circle Mountain. There were also dispatched this incident. They wouldn't have been had they not had a specialized capability that they were that they could provide to the unit to the Internet.

N

So um when all of those units went out, engine 147 was dispatched on a second alarm assignment meeting the initial units were committed and working and they needed to we needed to about to put in place a a layered approach of relief and additional needs that might come up. So you call for additional units that we could either use or just in reserve engine 147 responded.

N

So the Phoenix dispatch system sent the unit to that that fire station on at Station, 72 all of the stations in Daisy Mountain, were covered with additional units from the Phoenix fire department and the ones that weren't had one of our ambulances in those stations as well.

N

So the system does a really good job of filling in the gaps and they do that automatically um as the incident progresses and that's the case in this incident as well, when they, uh when, when we were achieving tactical benchmarks and moving the internet through to more of a controlled environment, the units were released and went back to the conditions.

O

A

How'd, it turn out what what caused it was anybody hurt and were the six people found.

N

The six people were not lost, they had self-extricated uh welcome to my world. That's what we hear all the time it seems like someone's telling me about someone, that's lost or trapped or not around the next thing. You know they were never there or they self-exupated themselves, but you work on the information that you get. The six people were accounted for, so it wasn't a mass casualty incident.

N

We backed off of all of the medical components that have been necessary, but it was a fire in a trashy that was filled up with a construction debris how it started. I, don't know it's a city of Phoenix incident, so there are investigators came to a conclusion on whatever that was I'm, sure accidental I don't think they they came to any idea that it was malicious in any uh anyway. There was quite a bit of smoke from the incident that sort of had a lot of people to be starting.

N

To put it was a trash shoot full of uh Refuge that had gotten stuck and built up, and then the Fire Starting. We couldn't get enough water in any kind of a meaningful way to the seat of the fire, so it was very difficult to extinguish on a construction site. My folks were lifted up on a cherry, picker, I think and went up to the roof area and we're squirting water down that dress sheet from from there ultimately would have turned out to be not very glamorous.

I

A

Just to follow up for a little bit the unit, the system has units 900 series units that are backup engines that are staffed. So when these units move out, they can move like a 930 into this area or cover up, and none of the Scottsdale units went. So we still had Scottsdale units in the area and also in the Cave Creek Station. The whole time was in dispatch was the ambulance unit, so it would have been a medical call which is bulk of our calls.

A

It would have at least got the ambulance unit first until about the rest of the units could have got here. So we were never stripped of resources over here. As was said on this, the Social Media stuff.

N

um Experience has units called adaptive response units fancy word to say, an extra piece of apparatus in a station that, when they move to cover another area, doesn't leave the one that they come from empty they're designed for this purpose. Throughout the day, those units have moved when, when fire trucks are doing on duty training, so instead of having your fire station empty, while the firefighters are training and adapt, the Response Unit moves there, so that that service area is always covered in the event there's a fire.

N

Most training is canceled, so those units can be redeployed. These 900 series trucks, as Jim mentioned. That's what they're designed to do is to fill in these gaps. There were three of them in the Daisy Mountain Fire District, as as my resources are in the city of Phoenix, their resources run Daisy mountains.

A

Cool and I'll ask a uh a question: I, probably shouldn't go there, but on Thursday night late, Thursday night there was a uh you might have saw this on the news. Also a large working house, fire of a house under construction at um dynamite and 60th Street. Okay, that was you know. I got questions from the you know from Carefree that was dispatched as a Scottsdale incident.

A

The intersection of 60th and dynamite is a Scottsdale address, and so it was responded with Phoenix and Scottsdale and The Incident Commander, actually the same one that was on your water rescue, um Andy McDonald. Anyway, they responded over there. They couldn't get an updated address, it went around and around they got there. They saw the South Center construction, they used their stain guns, they didn't commit any real resources.

A

They used the Big Deck Downs on top of the truck for the Phoenix Scottsdale unit and then, when raw Metro finally got there with the two units from Carefree, they turned it over to them and let them handle it, which is what the vote today told you that they want to handle it with their own resources. So then the question would turn about be who was covering Carefree while they were on that incident for quite a while.

N

A

O

Were you doing what.

N

You don't want to have happen and I'm sure you can all appreciate. This is I train my firefighters to do the fire, the fire truck job. They pay me to be an administrator and a incident manager. So when a fire truck goes on fire you you don't want to put them in the middle of some political, hot bed of controversy. So when the units are dispatched fire captains, firefighters do their job right.

N

So if they get dispatched and do it, that's what we want them to do, we don't want them to be taking all these things into consideration so and they do that. So in this case they did it. You know the address was updated shortly thereafter, as it was determined that it was north of dynamite on 60th Street. Clearly a county Island area- and uh you know you take the appropriate action after the ancient and stabilized, but you didn't want to put firefighters in the middle of that and we didn't well.

G

Can I assume from your comments that you're questioning the reliability of the social media, Information Network.

A

I think I might have been mentioned in it a couple times.

F

Since, as we tried to assist.

O

Yeah not on purpose I, try to stay away from.

K

A

Any question it might have: that's that's the quarter. The next quarter again we're a little bit late this time because of all the budget stuff and everything but be on time and again next quarter will be um fiscal year and entire fiscal year again. So you'll have a whole snapshot of what occurred in a year years times and.

N

I'd like to before I step away, I'd like to thank all of you that reached out to me, uh after the loss of our firefighter Eric Flannery from occupational cancer, uh he passed away on April 20th of last month and we had his funeral uh two weeks ago. So a lot of you reached out to me and appreciate those my words. Thank you very much ability.

A

Okay, well, thank you very much. We're looking for a motion to adjourn second.

B

A

Hey George, thank you.