MINTUES OF MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING OF THE

THATCHER TOWN COUNCIL

January 11, 2007

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor, Bob Rivera

Vice Mayor, Bill Mulleneaux

Councilmember’s: Doug Hoopes, Ken Larson

Eric Merriman, Donald Innes, Charles Morris

MEMBERS ABSENT: None

ALSO PRESENT: Terry Hinton, Town Manager

Mike McEuen, Chief of Police

Heath Brown, Town Engineer

Dudley Welker, Town Attorney

Mike Payne, Fire Chief

Lona Duncan, Town Clerk

VISTORS: Steph Slater, Jeniffer & Rob Chesley, Ward Weaver, Doug Spencer, Von & Terry Lutz, Jace Sanders, Becky Motes, Wyatt Palmer, Ed Zappia, Steve Allen, Chris Scorse, Wyatt Palmer

AGENDA

Mayor Rivera called the meeting to order at 7:00pm establishing that there was a Quorum. He also said God bless our Troops, Family and America.

Pledge of Allegiance was lead by Chief Mike Payne

Roll Call.

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

A. Daley Estates Annexation Proposal.

Doug Spencer stood and said he thought he was about the only resident that this would effect and he wanted Council to know that he was concerned about two things. One concern being that a flood plan needs to be in place before anyone is allowed out there, do we know where the water will drain. And second and do we know where the roads will go right now the only road access is Frye Creek Road. I am concerned about all the traffic going by my house I think there needs to be road plans before the sub divisions come in. Mr. Spencer also questioned one of the reasons to annex was lower property taxes but with more growth will come the need for more police more garbage & sewer I believe this will raise the taxes. I just wanted you to know what my concerns are. Mayor Rivera thanked him for coming.

B. Diamond Springs Final Subdivision Plat.

Chris Scorse stood and said he was representing Trueline Engineering and we are of course for the project it is a simply sub division with 14 lots at ½ acre each. All the neighbors seem to be okay with it and so we recommend Council passing it. Becky Motes stood and said she was representing her husband Erin Motes and if there are any questions I am here to answer them. Mayor Rivera thanked them both for coming.

C. Von Lutz Temporary Use Permit for 3^rd trailer on a lot.

Von Lutz stood and said the travel trailer is already on the property we just want to beable to have our daughter and her husband live in it to help take care of my wife who has health problems and my father who is 93 and lives in the other trailer. Becky Motes commented that there is already a water line into the travel trailer and so my question is who checks to see if someone is living in the trailer are there any guide line for that? Terry Hinton said it is pretty much a as we know bases we don’t have anyone going around and checking but if it is bought to our attention we send someone out to investigate. Mrs. Motes also said that the person in the first trailer who got the use permit for the second trailer should be taking care of him. Mr. Lutz again said that originally his wife was taking care of this Dad but she now has health problems and also needs help.

OPEN CALL TO THE PUBLIC:

None

PUBLIC APPEARANCES:

A. Ward Weaver – Vehicles.

Ward Weaver stood and introduced himself. He said that the reason he was here is because he received a letter from Wyatt Palmer. Mr. Weaver said he thought this started about 2 years ago when he wanted to know where he could place his storage units. Heath Brown came out and told me what the set backs should be and we measured and my line came right up to the sidewalk and he told me the set back was 20 ft. Then he said Terry says to measure from the fence not from the line and by doing that I would loose seven feet just because Terry says, but I didn’t use the fence line. The second issue happened when Dan Welker was the Engineer we bought that property and Brent Cluff owned the trailers on the property and we rented him space. I wanted to have my own trailer on the property so I went to Dan and ask if the Cluff’s move their trailer can I move a trailer in there and he said sure and I ask him for it in writing so he give me a copy that said anytime you move something you can replace it. When we decided to move a trailer on I went to talk to Heath & Terry and they said the trailer has to be burned down and then you can replace it so again because Terry said I couldn’t have a trailer. We then moved from Safford and when we did we had these vans in my back yard that I had taken parts off of and no place to put them so we moved them to the corner where they are right now with the thought of selling them. Terry then calls me and tells me that I need to move them because of an ordinance and I told him I wanted to sell them so he said I could leave them there for a while to try and sell them. Then I received a letter from Wyatt Palmer saying I am attaching a copy of the regulation and no zoning area is allowed to keep abandoned vehicles is that true? Terry’s answer was yes it is. Ward ask then what about the junk yard out there? Terry said they have the proper license and the proper zoning. Mr. Weaver went on to read all vehicle not licensed and able to move on there own must be stored in an area not visible from adjacent property or a public street the only way around this is to be a licensed auto dealer with a State license transaction privilege license and a Town of Thatcher business license. I told Terry I wasn’t going to move them and that there are dozens of them around town doing the same thing. Terry said we don’t have a police patrol but if you will bring those names to us we will check them out. Mr. Weaver said he was not going to do Terry’s job for him and I am not going to haul my car to the dump I believe I am being singled out. Attorney Welker ask Mr. Weaver what it was that he wanted Council to do? Mr. Weaver said he wanted to beable to leave his vehicles where they are and sell them. There are 142 old vehicles just in the old Town of Thatcher and I am being singled out. Attorney Welker said we can not give you legal advice so you might want to talk to a lawyer. Mr. Weaver said if I need to hire a lawyer I will do that but on the other hand there are 142 others sitting out there why aren’t you going to clean them up? Mayor Rivera thanked him for coming.

B. City of Safford Water Rate Presentation – Ron Green

Mayor Rivera ask Ed Zappia if he was here to represent Mayor Green and Mr. Zappia said he was only here as a spectator.

CONSENT AGENDA:

A. Approve minutes of the December 19, 2006 Regular Council Meeting.

B. Planning and Zoning Monthly Report.

C. Police Monthly Report.

D. Approval of Invoices.

E. Financial Reports.

Vice Mayor Mulleneaux made motion to approve the minutes and reports. Councilman Merriman seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed

OLD BUSINESS:

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Decision on Proposed Daley Estates Annexation.

Terry said the decision tonight is just to see if Council wants to proceed further with the annexation. The map has been posted for legal requirements and if Council chooses to go further then the first processes will be to go to the county and state for property values and then there are a number of public meetings, petitions have to be prepared and signatures collected and then back to Council. Terry said that the concerns that Mr. Spencer had will be addressed. Just to let you know the lots will be at lease 8000 sq ft and the plats when presented will have those other concerns taken care of. Vice Mayor Mulleneaux said as far as Frye Creek Rd the Council has the same concerns and Terry said there are options as far as roads go and they will be addressed.

Councilman Larson made the motion to process on the annexation of Daley Estates. Councilman Innes seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.

B. Decision on Diamond Springs final Subdivision Plat.

Terry stated that this has been approved by the P&Z Commission. There were minor changes made from the prelimary plat. Terry said that one road goes by Mrs. Cluff house and one by Doug Griffin’s house. Councilman Innes ask about retention pond. Heath Brown said they are not going to raise curbs so the water coming from the street will go directly to the basins on the lots.

Councilman Innes made motion to accept final Subdivision Plat for Diamond Springs. Councilman Hoopes seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed

C. Decision on Von Lutz Temporary Use Permit.

Terry stated that the P&Z Commission passed the permit by a 5 for and 1 against vote. Vice Mayor Mulleneaux said in the past we have tried to be strict about having one care taker trailer on a lot I think we need to be consistent this is an exception to our rule. Mrs. Lutz said again that she was the one that was taking care of Von’s father but there are days that she could not get out of bed herself. Mayor Rivera ask if the use permit is allowed and Mr. Lutz passes. Heath said the original permit was on the big trailer where the father is living so it would have to be moved off and the camp trailer would stay.

Councilman Larson made motion to accept Temporary Use Permit. Councilman Innes seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed

D. IGA with DPS for DUI Enforcement Program Grant.

Terry said the way he reads this IGA is this has to be in place in order to allow DPS to participate in the DUI Enforcement Program in which the Town of Thatcher is the lead agency. Mayor Rivera ask if we are the lead agent and since other agency work together who would be liable if there was an accident. The grant is written that each agency has there own liability. Chief McEuen said we are just doing the book keeping and records and then each agency has to coordinate a date for a detail for example when we do the Fair Grounds it would be Graham County and on the freeway it would be DPS.

Councilman Merriman made motion to accept IGA. Vice Mayor Mulleneaux seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed

E. RESOLUTION NO 507-2007: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF THATCHER, ARIZONA, DECLARING AS A PUBLIC RECORD THAT CERTAIN DOCUMENT FILED WITH THE TOWN CLERK AND ENTITLED "TOWN OF THATCHER REPEAL OF RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTIES TAX AND LOCAL OPTION N, AND ADOPTION OF USE TAX”.

Terry stated that these are the tax changes we talked about last month. The best explanation is by our sales tax auditor and you will find that in the packet. Terry said he thought this was our only control opposition for revenue generation. Our property taxes are capped at a $1000.00 a year it has been that way for ten year and with legislature this last year we are capped at that and can only collect a thousand dollars plus two percent a year. These sales tax collections are the only way we have to generate revenue.

Councilman Innes made the motion to accept Resolution No. 507-2007. Councilman Larson seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed

F. ORDINANCE NO.150-2007: AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF THATCHER, ARIZONA, RELATING TO THE PRIVILEGE LICENSE TAX; ADOPTING THE "TOWN OF THATCHER REPEAL OF RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTIES TAX AND LOCAL OPTION N, AND ADOPTION OF USE TAX "; PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY; ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR APPLICATION OF TAX TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.

Terry explained that the Ordinance actually makes the change and the Resolution just makes it a public recorded so we don’t have post so much in the news paper.

Vice Mayor Mulleneaux made motion to approve Ordinance No. 150-2007. Councilman Merriman seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:

A. Town Manager’s Report:

Daley Estates- They had milling machine out working and it only took one day to complete. This week and most of next week they will repair some curbs and cleaning up the millings that we left so they can begin to pave. We believe they will start paving on Monday and that will finish all the streets up to Brinkerhoff for this year. Then next year it will be from Brinkerhoff to Valley View. With the project we are doing now we will also begin to pave the bridge so we will take traffic off the road from time to time until it is paved.

After we complete that we are trying to get the curbing done on 1^st Ave from Eagle Lane to the canal on the west side. The east side has been bid out but the power line is not underground yet. Councilman Innes ask when the curb is finished will there be room for parallel parking. Terry’s answer was yes on both side’s two traffic lanes and a left hand turning lane once it is completed.

Cota apartments are thinking they will be finished by March. They are in the process of putting the sewer in down here on 1^st and will be completed this week and then they will start on the curb and side walks. They are trying to work out a way to get building permits there. If they start before the street is in they will have to bond for the cost of the street and curbing before we can give them a building permit. He was trying to get the entire infrastructure in before we finalized the plat so that he wouldn’t have to put up the bond.

Terry said he had heard that there might be on the agenda next month some rezoning between Reay Lane and Stadium Ave to accommodate the condominiums and apartments for the college.

Double D on 8^th Street is moving dirt trying to get their sewer in.

As we talked about the sewer for 8^th Street Athletic Club area Heath is trying to determine if there is enough right-a-way from the County to put it in. The people who need it are willing to put it in to our specification and then turn it over to us. That would accommodate the area between Reay Lane and 1^st Ave.

Councilman Innes ask how many units Cota had the answer was 40 units and it will be two story.

Terry said they still haven’t received any word from ADOT as to when the traffic light will go out to bid I am thinking it will be February.

Terry also said that he has talked to Town of Pima, City of Safford and the County to start a process the first part of February to try and get our zoning classification to all be the same. We are all using the same building code and it would simplify annexations.

B. Fire Department Report.

Chief Payne said he did not have anything to report but he wanted to let Council know of Frank Langley passing away and that he had been the Asst Chief for the Fire Department for about 15 years and they would be sending flower to his funeral. Chief Payne also said that with all the sub division things look good as far as Fire goes but the Gila River Apartments have a couple of fire hydrants that need to be turn 180 degrees before they open but besides that everyone looks like they are following code.

C. Police Department Report.

Chief McEuen explain to Council that last year we had 2997 told calls and the year before there were 3259 and in the five different areas I look at the assault were up from 34 to 45 which means there are more violent crimes Narcotics were up from 39 to 54, DUI up from 35 to 64 and criminal damage was down from 97 to 87 which was good and our accidents were up from 143 to 164 which is an indication of the increase in traffic. We have noticed more felony cases. Chief McEuen said that he and three others attended a sexual offender notification training today. There are three categories of sexual offenders and the third is the more extreme which usually involves children as the victim. We do have one in Daley Estates we are required to notify people know where they are so will be placing his picture in the paper. Chief McEuen said there are getting to be more offenders so please watch out for your families know where they are. Chief McEuen also said that the National Night Out in Daley Estates won an award again this year. We appreciate all who participates it is a really good program. He again said how proud he is of his officers and the training they can teach other and the DUI program they are involved in. Mayor Rivera said that the Council appreciates the department being the Santa Claus and helping the families that are in need it is a good thing.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

A. Safe House – Councilman Hoopes he was unable to attend

B. Chamber of Commerce – Councilman Merriman said they had a meeting today and in December we talked about the Salsa Trail brochures being mailed out and the bird watching to invite tourism because of them they have had over 4 thousand hits on the website. In the meeting today they elected officers and Wayne Griffin is the President, Steve Jordon is the Vice President and Terry Johnson is the Tresarury. In the Leadership Program we have 22 students and it is really doing well. This month is education and next month they will be going to the federal and state government agencies to learn what they do. At the hospital there are two new doctors in internal medicine. They are also starting the planning stage of the new addition called the fast track. The ER has so many different things come in that they are going to divide it up in stages of serious condition. The building will probably be two stories and the top will be for heart patience’s. Safford is going to annex the area which is called the Hatch Angle property. The road went out to bid again and the waste water treatment plant is at1.2 million gallons a day and at 2 million gallon they will have to expand the facility. Dean Craig is starting his hotel the one in Safford. The Ward’s old nursing home will be torn down and replaced with Town Houses and the Carl’s Jr. started the plumbing and surveying that is located by Walgreen’s. Safford also increased there bed tax by 2% and they are going through stages of increasing the impact fees. The airport is going to start a 50 thousand sq ft building for a business that might come in. Safford would like Thatcher to work with them on the trails they have by taking the trails and come across the County and go to the Golf Course and down Reay Lane. Terry said he had already talked to them about it and we are looking at the different grants to help with that. They also said in the meeting that BLM will be hiring 12 employees and the Swift Trail Prison Camp is going to add another 500 beds which will make them need 45 employees.

C. SEAGO - Mayor Rivera said this years Rural Transportation Summit will be in Casa Grande on January 18^th and 19^th it is a good way to network with rural elected officials through out the state and also official of the State Transportation Department. Seago’s first quarterly meeting will be February 24^th.

D. Arizona Foundation. - Councilman Larson said they had a meeting in December to review the grant requests that we had received and where the money would go so that could be coming out the first part of the year. There were about 10 or 12 and everyone will get something.

ADJOURNMENT:

Councilman Innes made motion to adjourn meeting and Councilman Hoopes seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and meeting adjourned at 8:09pm.

ATTEST:

APPROVED:

___________________________ ___________________________

Lona Duncan, Town Clerk Robert Rivera, Mayor

CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the regular/special meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Thatcher held on the 11th day of January 2007. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present.

___________________________

Lona Duncan, Town Clerk