City Council - Regular Meeting

I will call this meeting to order. Yes, I will. And city clerk, who's on the phone? Councilman Littlefield's on the phone. Okay, I will be running the special, the boards and commission appointment meeting today. The mayor had an emergency. She will join us for the regular meeting at 5 p.m. Okay, roll call.

Thank you, city clerk. Okay. The boards and commissions task force and interview appointments. The council will spend a few minutes interviewing each board and commission nominee. The council will make appointments at the conclusion of the interview for each board or commission. And here we go. We will start with the airport advisory commission. There are two openings. And we will start with James Howard.

Okay. James will be with us online. Go ahead, Mr. Howard. You have two minutes.

Okay, thank you. And Mr. Howard, my apologies, I did not ask. You do need to state your address and how long you've lived in Scottsdale.

Okay, thank you very much. And our next person up for Airport Advisory Commission is Cooper Nelson.

Okay, Mr. Nelson, you'll need to state your name, your address, and how long you've lived in Scottsdale, as well as any education and employment or volunteer experience that relates to the Airport Advisory Commission. Please go ahead, you have two minutes.

Thank you so much, Mr. Nelson. Okay, our next... person is Cooper, I'm sorry, is Sean Oliver? Okay, Mr. Oliver, you have two minutes.

Thank you. Thank you, appreciate that. Okay, we also have Mark Utterbach, who is unable to participate in today's interviews, but is still interested in being appointed to the commission. With that, the next candidate is Amanda Weigelschlosser. Did it close? And you'll come over here, Amanda, yeah.

Great, thank you so much. Okay, with that, just a reminder, council, we have two openings and I will begin with Councilman Quasman, your votes.

Okay, and then we'll go to Councilman Graham.

And Councilwoman Littlefield? Councilwoman Littlefield, do you hear me? I have a feeling that's her calling back, maybe. Okay, with that, there are enough votes for a majority. Is that correct?

Oh, I'm so sorry. Mine are for the same. Sean Paul, Olivier, and Amanda Weigel-Schlosser. And with that, it looks like Sean Paul Olivier and Amanda Weigel-Schlosser are appointed. Thank you. Okay, the next commission is actually the Board of Adjustment. The Board of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial body that hears variance requests, appeals of zoning administrators, interpretation and decisions, and decides on administrative decisions or zoning requirements. Julian Anderson has withdrawn herself from consideration. There is only one vacant.

There is one vacancy and there is one nominee. That being said, the nominee is Ed Piezer, who is here in the audience. If you'd like to come and speak also, Ed, your name, your address, and your qualifications.

Thank you, Ed. No questions. OK. With that, there is one opening and one candidate. And I will start to my left with Councilwoman Whitehead.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. A couple remarks about Mr. Peazer. where when I first step my toe into service for the City Council. When was that, 2012? I was appointed to the Building Advisory Board of Appeals, and Ed Piezer was the staff liaison at that time for BABA, Building Advisory Board of Appeals. And he just, he shaped my knowledge of so many issues that I've never even had any prior appreciation for. And so I'm excited for Mr. Piezer to serve on the Board of Adjustments.

Thank you, Councilman Graham. I served on the Development Review Board with Ed and also as a former city employee together. So congratulations, sir. You are appointed. Next, we have the Development Review Board. There is one opening. The purpose of the Development Review Board is to review and approve architectural design and layout of proposed development plans. This includes site planning and the relationship of the development to the surrounding environment and community. special qualifications. As specified in the Scottsdale City Code, the Development Review Board membership consists of a

Oh, electronically. I'm so sorry. My apologies. So, nominee Warman, if you would please state your name, your address, how long you've lived in Scottsdale, and please include your qualifications. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Worman. Councilwoman Littlefield, are you on the line? Okay. Oh, okay. The next in line would be Councilman Graham, then. Oh, you have a question? Okay, go ahead. Ms. Worman, Council, Councilor Quasman has a question for you.

Thank you, thank you Ms. Warman. Appreciate your application. I saw that you were, you mentioned earlier that you were involved with IAI, is that, sorry, excuse me, AIA, is that correct?

Okay, so my question is, and this kind of will go into, I don't want you to see this as a question about political allegiance. I don't care who the president is. I want to know kind of how your thought process on the architectural style at the federal level, just kind of to show how that would affect your state, the city level. So the AIA opposes the president's plans of, I forgot what the name of the cliche is, it's the making architecture something again, but really pushing for classical architecture in the federal districts and I wanna know if that's something that you personally would agre

Thank you very much. Appreciate the elucidation and the question. Appreciate it.

Okay. With that, I will go to the mayor for the vote. We have one opening and two candidates. Mayor, your vote.

Vice Mayor, I've been hearing some coughing. I wonder if that's Council Member Littlefield. Is she here casting votes? We don't know.

Solange. Councillor Whitehead, sorry. Whitney Worman. Okay, and I also will go with Whitney Worman. With that, Ms. Worman, you are nominated.

Yes, we can hear you now. Would you like to vote?

Okay. Shannon, with that still, Whitney Worman is the one who is appointed. Okay, thank you. Okay, we will move on to the Environmental Advisory Commission. Just a reminder to the audience, the Mayor and Councilwoman Whitehead are both online. The Environmental Advisory Commission Oh, I meant Littlefield. My apologies. The environmental Advisory Commission provides guidance on prioritization of current and future environmental activities and recommends environmental policies to the City Council special qualifications as specified in the Scottsdale City Code the membership of the Commission sha

Thank you for your time. Does anyone have any questions? Okay. Thank you, sir. Next is Brandon Putnam.

Thank you, Mr. Putman. Correct. Any questions for Mr. Putman? Thank you for your time. Okay, city clerk, do we have Serena, is it Tacho on the line?

Thank you, Serena. Any questions for Serena? Thank you. We also have Terence Winters participating electronically. Terence, go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Winters. Any questions for him? Okay, thank you so much. Do you have one? Okay, Councilman Quasman has a question, sir.

Yes, I just, this is just a general, it's a general comment to see if you agree or disagree with this, but, you know, I'm saying that there are coincidences in life, but if it were, you know, two coincidences, two or three Beijing-educated individuals who want to get on our environmental commission, we'd think that there might be something going on here, so what is with the British invasion? I just want some clarity. I'm just asking questions. That's okay, you don't need to answer. Thank you for applying.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Winters. We appreciate it. Okay, with that, I will start with Councilwoman Littlefield. Are you on the line? Councilwoman Littlefield? Okay. Mayor, are you on the line?

Okay. Phil Ossoff. And Councilman Graham.

Ms. Winters. Sorry. Sorry, Mr. Winters. Mr. Winters.

Councilwoman, oh, he's voting, sir. He's talking.

Okay. Councilwoman Whitehead. Brandon Putnam. And I will vote for Brandon Putnam myself. Kathy, are you on the line? Councilwoman Littlefield.

Thank you. So with that, it looks like Terrence Winters will be appointed.

Okay. And will we do that right now? We'll do that right now. Okay. I will start with... Just one second. Okay. Thank you.

Councilman Clauseman. And I vote for Mr. Putnam. Okay, with that, Mr. Winters is appointed. Thank you all. Okay, next we have the Human Relations Commission. There is one opening. The Human Relations Commission acts as an advisory body to the mayor and council and staff to make recommendations on ways to encourage mutual respect and understanding amongst people in Scottsdale. There is one vacancy and four nominees. The nominees are Ajith Arpana, Paul Epstein, Katie McGinty, and Rutherford Paschall. And Ajit is participating electronically. Could you go ahead, please?

Okay, then Mr. Epstein is unable to participate in today's interviews, but will like to be considered still, so we will move on to appointee Katie McGinty. Are you here? Okay. What about Rutherford Pascal? Pascal? Okay. Please. Governor Moore. Please correct me. I'm happy to be corrected.

Thank you so much. Any questions? Okay, thank you. At this time, we will vote, and I will start with Councilwoman Dabaskis.

Okay. And is Councilwoman Littlefield back on? Councilwoman Littlefield?

and the Vice Mayor votes for Mr. Pascal. With that, Mr. Pascal, you are appointed. Thank you, and thank you all for volunteering. Next we have the Industrial Development Authority. There is one opening. The Industrial Development Authority, the IDA, was incorporated by the state in 1984 and is legally an independent political jurisdiction of the state. Its primary purpose is to to issue tax-exempt bonds for certain types of private development, primarily smaller manufacturing facilities and non-profit facilities, for the purpose of attracting new economic activity to the community. Special qua

Thank you, Mr. Hernandez. Any questions for Mr. Hernandez? Okay, with that, I will start the voting with Councilman Quasman.

Yeah, I'll absolutely vote to appoint Valentina Hernandez.

Councilwoman Dabowskis? Yes. Councilman Graham?

Councilwoman Whitehead? Valentine Hernandez. And I will vote for Mr. Hernandez. Well, Mr. Hernandez, you are unanimously appointed. Thank you, and thank you to the other candidate. With that, we move on to the Library Board. The Library Board has two openings. The library board advises city council on general policy relating to program services and future development of Scottsdale Public Library System. Enid Synod has withdrawn from consideration. There are two vacancies, and there are still six nominees. The nominees are Douglas Connolly, Matthew Farber, Jeff Flancher, Rissell Langbecker, Emi

Thank you, Mr. Connolly. And next we have Matthew Farber, who is unable to participate in today's interviews, but is still interested in being appointed. Next we have Jeff Flancier.

Thank you. Any questions? Okay. Our next candidate is Russell Langbecker.

Thank you so much. And our next candidate is Emily Nelvin, and she is here electronically. Emily, are you on the line?

Thank you, Emily. And with that, our next candidate is Vernon Noronha. Yay.

Thank you, sir. Okay, with that, we will begin voting, and I will start with Councilwoman Whitehead.

I'm sorry, is the second one again? Mr. Flancer. Oh, thank you. I didn't hear. Okay. Councilwoman Littlefield?

Mr. Connolly and Mr. Langbecker. Ms. Langbecker.

Okay, and the Vice Mayor votes for Mr. Flanser and Vernon Noronha. So at this point, one person was appointed and there will be a runoff between Rizal Linebacker and Vernon Naranja. So we will vote again. Councilwoman Whitehead.

Mayor. I think it was Mr. Conley and. It's now between Rizal Langbecker and Vernon Naranjo. Rizal Langbecker, please. Okay, Councilwoman Littlefield.

And I will vote for Vernon. So that leaves Rissell Langebecker. You are appointed. Thank you to all. Please keep your applications in. What a great group of volunteers. I really appreciate that. Okay, moving on to the next commission. It is the Neighborhood Advisory Commission. There are two openings. The Neighborhood Advisory Commission consists of seven members. who advise and make recommendations to City Council on policies, plans, strategies, and programs for preservation, improvement, and revitalization of Scottsdale neighborhoods. George Spatola has withdrawn from consideration. There ar

Thank you so much. Our next candidate is Todd Fretto.

Thank you Our next candidate Terry Nickerson Terry Nickerson Okay, we'll come back Ryan Jensen

Thank you, Ryan. Any questions? Thank you. City Clerk, there was a question presented to me. Qualifications to be a candidate, is it six months in Scottsdale or is it a year?

Okay, thank you for the clarification. Thank you for the question. Okay, with that, we will start the voting with Councilwoman Littlefield. Are you on the line?

Okay, there are two openings, so you may vote for two.

OK. And Mayor? Can you come back to me, please, Vice Mayor? OK. Councilman Graham.

Councilman Quasman. Councilwoman Whitehead.

Okay. And I will vote for Valerie Capone and Todd Freddo. Mayor?

And so that means that Todd Freddo and Ryan Jensen are appointed. Thank you. Thank you all candidates. Please keep your applications in. We appreciate you wanting to volunteer. Next we have the Parks and Recreation Commission. There are two openings and there are three candidates. The Parks and Recreation Commission advises the City Council on the acquisition of lands, facilities for use as parks and recreation centers, and the operation, use, and care maintenance of all the parks and recreation areas within the City of Scottsdale. Again, there are two vacancies and three nominees. The nominee

Thank you. Next, we have Chair Michael Vreeland.

Thank you. And with that, again, council, there are two openings and three candidates. We will start with Councilman Graham.

Thank you. I will vote for Ms. Ongst and Ms. Lagesse.

Councilman Quasman. Marilyn Lagesse and Chas Ongst.

And the Vice Mayor will vote for Marilyn and Michael Vreeland. That will leave a tie. Okay, and Chaz Anse has been appointed. So we will re-vote between Marilyn and Chair Vreeland, and we will start again with Council, Councilor Graham.

Councilor Quasman. Marilyn Lagesse. Councilwoman Whitehead.

Councilwoman Littlefield. Marilyn LeGess. And the Vice Mayor votes for Michael Vreeland. That means Marilyn LeGess is appointed, thank you. Okay, the next commission is the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission holds public meetings and makes recommendations to the City Council on all matters relating to the creation of zoning districts, the enforcement of zoning regulations, amendments to all zoning ordinances, and any other planning and zoning issues. There are three vacancies and seven nominees. The nominees are Jeffrey Brand, Doug Craig, Mason Gates, David Mason, Mark McCurdy, Poona

Thank you, Jeff. Next candidate is Doug Craig.

Mr. Craig Our next candidate is Mason gates. I

Thank you, Mr. Mason. Our next candidate is Mark McCurdy.

Thank you. Mr. McCurdy, any questions, anyone? Okay, thank you. Our next candidate is Poonam Singh, who is participating electronically. Mr. Singh?

Thank you. Our next candidate and our final candidate is Michael Wills.

Thank you, Mr. Wills. Any questions? No? Okay. With that, we will begin the vote. and I will begin with Councilwoman Littlefield. There are three openings. You have three votes, Councilwoman.

Oh, could you come back to me? I'm sorry.

Jeffrey Brand, Doug Craig, and Mark McCurdy.

Yes, thank you. Doug Craig, Mark McCurdy, and David Mason.

OK. And the vice mayor will vote for Jeffrey Brand, Doug Craig, and Michael Wills. And that leaves us with Doug. Is that correct?

Okay, Mark McCurdy, Jeffrey Brand, and Doug Craig are appointed. Thank you all for being here tonight for that and keep your applications in. We appreciate the very strong group. That was very... Okay, next is the Tourism Development Commission. There is one opening, and that is for a Scottsdale hotelier. The Tourism Development Commission advises the City Council on matters concerning the expenditure of revenues from transaction privilege tax. on transient lodging, the bed tax, and designated for tourism development. There is one vacancy for a Scottsdale hotelier and two nominees. The nominee

Thank you. And next candidate is Terry Worthington. Terry.

Thank you, Ms. Worthington. OK. Again, there is one opening, and we will begin the voting with Councilwoman Dabowskis.

Councilman Quasman. Councilwoman Whitehead.

And the Vice Mayor votes for Terry Worthington. With that, Ms. Worthington, you are appointed. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, thank you all for being here and for your patience. We are on our final commission. It's the Transportation Commission. There is one opening. The Transportation Commission advises the City Council on matters relating to the safe and efficient movement of vehicles, transit, pedestrians, and bicycles. The commission provides a public forum to hear citizens' complaints, requests, and transportation matters. Kerry Cox and Mohamed Shahbander have withdrawn from consideration. T

Okay, you may begin, sir. You have two minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Conover. Our next nominee is Mr. Lee Koptal, whose term is expiring and is eligible for reappointment.

Thank you Lee Okay with that we have two candidates and one opening, and we will begin the vote with Councilman Quasman.

Yes, I'd like to vote for Gerald Conover, please.

Councilman Littlefield. Gerald Conover. Councilman Graham.

Councilman Dabaskis. And the Vice Mayor votes for Lee Koftel. With that, Mr. Conover has been appointed. This concludes our appointment process for today. I would like to thank all the nominees for their interest in serving on the city board or commission. We are fortunate to continue to receive qualified applicants, and for the positions in the future on boards and commissions, we ask you to keep your applications in. If you are not appointed today, We thank you for your time and ask you to continue to want to volunteer for the city. The city staff will contact the individuals appointed this