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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Jun 13

11

The joke’s on Glendale voters…

Posted by Joyce Clark on June 11, 2013
Posted in City Council Actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Jobing.com arena  | Tagged With: , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

agenda 1June 11, 2013 will be a regular Glendale City Council meeting. The agenda, however, is anything but regular. There are four items of special note. All but one item is under Consent Resolutions. Consent Resolutions means that unless an item is pulled by a councilmember for further discussion that item will be passed or rejected along with the 13 other consent resolutions and there will be no discussion – nary a peep out of anyone. The usual disclaimer prior to introduction of the consent resolutions is to say, “They are of a routine nature or have been previously discussed by council in a workshop session.”  Let me assure you two of the consent resolutions are not of a routine nature and have never been discussed publicly by this council. They are consent resolutions #13 and #14. Here is the link to council’s meeting agenda of June 11, 2013:  http://www.glendaleaz.com/Clerk/agendasandminutes/Meetings/Agendas/061113.pdf .

Both of these consent resolutions require doing business with the Tohono O’odham Nation. Item 13 is a grant request from the TO on behalf of the Aguila Youth Leadership Institute (http://www.aguilayouth.org/) in the amount of $112,100. The second item, item 14 is another grant request from the TO on behalf of Heart for the City in the amount of $100,000.

In the Staff Report, staff’s apparent rationale for doing business with the Tohono O’odham is that we have submitted for the same type of grants from the Gila River Indian Community.  So, if we could take grant money from the Gila River Indian Community then by golly, we should be able to take grant money from the Tohono O’odham. Between August, 2010 and June, 2011 the city received grants totaling $290,188 from the Gila River Indian Community. The funds were used by From the Heart, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix and the Glendale Parks, Recreation and Library Department. The Gila River Indian Community have been one of our staunchest allies in the legal warfare with the Tohono O’odham since the issue of a casino IN Glendale (not near Glendale –darn it – but IN it) arose.

Is something missing? Have all legal issues between the City of Glendale and the Tohono O’odham been resolved? Are we suddenly buddies? Receiving grant money from a legal ally is far different than receiving grant money, no matter how well intentioned, from your legal enemy. It is the height of hypocrisy on Glendale’s part. I am ashamed that staff has brought these items forward. If I were on council and could take action at the meeting I would pull both items off of the Consent Resolution Agenda and speak directly to them and vote a resounding “no” on both – no matter how well intentioned they are. If council approves these two consent resolutions, where are this council’s principles?

Glendale City Council

Glendale City Council

Another Consent Resolution is more amusing in context. Item 8 calls for adoption of council’s Key Priorities for Fiscal Year 2013-2014. This one is a hoot! Council’s very first priority is, “Transparency internally and externally to assure the community that the decisions made for the well-being of Glendale are discussed openly with input invited.” Followed by their second priority, “Arena management, debt service, hockey agreement and enhanced revenues will play a large role in policy formation and financial strategy. The above noted transparency will be vital to gaining community support for decisions necessary to optimize the arena value to the Glendale community” (Italics mine). It appears that we all have missed something in council’s translation of transparency.  It looks like council’s definition of transparency is not what the general public assumes it to be. We certainly haven’t seen much transparency when it comes to the Beacon RFP process or Renaissance Sports and Entertainment Group’s discussions with city personnel or council.

greed 1Which brings up our last target of incredulity, Item 21, Fiscal Year Budget Amendments, as an Ordinance to be adopted. I love numbers. While most people won’t go to the numbers pages and really read them. I always do with gusto because they are so revealing. These amendments are transfers from one hand in the budget into a different hand in the budget. The transfer is from Contingency (you know, the “rainy day” account the city is trying to rebuild) to the City Manager’s Office.  In this case, did you know that this council is paying $500,000 for the Council Special Audit? Can you imagine it? Half a million dollars on a special audit – an audit whose primary purpose is to fix blame on somebody. Let’s hope they find a half million dollars worth of blame because they certainly are not going to find a half million dollar pot of gold at City Hall.

The council is also spending another $100,000 on the Arena RFP Process run by their hired consultant, Beacon Sports.  We all thought Councilmember Alvarez wanted to “get rid” of all the consultants? Not so. They must be OK if they are consultants that serve her purposes. Remember, this RFP process is the same one that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman characterized as “silly.” All of this comes from a council which, when 4 of them were running for office, ran around wringing their hands, complaining about the previous council’s fiscal irresponsibility and vowing it would never occur again because their mission was to be fiscally accountable and transparent about it all. Looks like the joke is on you, Glendale voters.

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Jun 13

4

So much for transparency

Posted by Joyce Clark on June 4, 2013
Posted in City Council Actions • Jobing.com arena  | Tagged With: , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Glendale City Council

Glendale City Council

Today, June 4, 2013 Glendale council will conduct a workshop meeting. Here is the link to the agenda:  http://www.glendaleaz.com/Clerk/agendasandminutes/Workshops/Agendas/060413.pdf

Workshops are not like regular evening meetings. They are intended as a means of staff bringing forward subjects they believe are important or staff is responding to a councilmember’s request for further study on a subject. Unlike night meetings there is no opportunity for public comment.

The public agenda is short. There are only two items: an update on Glendale’s airport and council selection of its members for the two standing subcommittees, Government Services and Sustainability as well as selection of Vice Mayor. The airport issue is one that Councilmember Sherwood brought forward. For years the airport has been vexing as it has never reached its full development potential. That is a topic for another posting. We could see some interesting dynamics play out in the self selection of councilmembers to serve on the two standing subcommittees.

The more troubling aspect of the agenda is the Executive Session agenda. Executive Sessions are designed to allow council and staff to discuss, in a non-public setting, contracts, personnel and property leases/purchases. Its interpretation is often overly broad by a city’s legal department. There are 8 items on the Executive Session agenda. It is 4 times as long as the open session! Some of topics placed on the Esession agenda are questionable and were not decided in favor of the public.

One of the topics is the city’s external audit requested by this council. There have been several Esessions that included a secret discussion of this item. One would think that since this has been visited in Esession several times previously that a public update would be provided. Tsk…tsk, council. So much for transparency.

Another item that was previously discussed in workshop is the Cardinals training camp proposal. See this link to get more information from council’s March 5, 2013 workshop:  http://www.glendaleaz.com/Clerk/agendasandminutes/Workshops/Agendas/030513.pdf . The original proposal wasn’t so hot for the city. Since it was discussed in open session previously it probably would have been a good idea to bring this item forward publicly once again. So much for transparency.

jobing.com arena

Jobing.com arena

There are two more items that certainly deserve public scrutiny. Both relate to Jobing.com arena and the Coyotes ownership. The drop dead date for submissions to Beacon Sports, the city’s consultant, for arena management was May 31, 2013. Of course, at city discretion, it can accept bids after that date because of the disclaimer clause in the RFP. One Esession item deals with “potential agreements related to the management of the arena” and the other Esession item is to provide “instruction in connection with potential agreements related to the Hockey Team…”

Yet Mike Sunnicks in his story of June 3, 2013 in the Phoenix Business Journal quoting Glendale spokesperson Julie Watters, says, “Initial responses to the RFP have been received by Beacon Sports. The submissions are currently being reviewed by Beacon to determine completeness and if they qualify for further consideration,” Watters said. “We will follow up tomorrow (Tuesday) with Beacon to determine the status.” Sunnicks provides the reader with a rehash of old information — nothing new. This is the link to his story: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/morning_call/2013/06/glendale-awaits-qualified-bids-for.html?ana=twt

Yet this is one of the secret items to be discussed by council at its workshop today (Tuesday). Methinks the council has been given a report by Beacon with those who have made bids (to date) to manage the arena. How else could council discuss this very topic?  So much for transparency.

Cardinals training camp proposal…external audit…management of city owned arena…the hockey team’s very survival in Glendale…all topics of extreme interest to the people of Glendale. Yet the only discussion to be had will be secret. So much for transparency.

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May 13

25

Read carefully

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 25, 2013
Posted in City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bettman

NHL Commissioner
Gary Bettman

Daly

NHL Deputy Commissioner
Bill Daly

On May 24 media sources announced that the NHL has chosen a bride-to-be owner of the Phoenix Coyotes – Renaissance Sports and Entertainment led by George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc. It was also widely reported that Commissioner Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Daly along with Gosbee/LeBlanc will do a “walk around” with the Mayor and City Council on Tuesday morning, May 28th. The term “walk around” is a slang expression. It means that meeting all seven of the council at one time would violate the Open Meeting Law unless they were making a presentation at a public council workshop or meeting. To avoid violation of the Open Meeting Law these gentlemen will meet in groups of no more than 3 councilmembers (4 councilmembers would trigger a violation).

Craig Morgan is accurate in his May 24th article for Fox Sports Arizona entitled Sources: Gosbee/LeBlanc group has agreement to purchase Coyotes when he says, “ Bettman, Daly and RSE will meet with Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers and then will hold two separate meetings, each to be attended by three councilmembers.” Here is the link: http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/nhl/phoenix-coyotes/story/Sources-GosbeeLeBlanc-group-has-agreemen?blockID=905273&feedID=3702 .

Paul Giblin’s piece for the Arizona Republic of May 24th entitled NHL may lay out Coyotes ownership deal Tuesday, mayor says reports the same saying, “Bettman, Daly and RSE will meet with Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers and then will hold two separate meetings, each to be attended by three councilmembers.” Here is the link: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/20130524nhl-expected-lay-out-coyotes-ownership-deal-tuesday-mayor-says.html .

So far, so good. They both report the very same fact. From here on in, read carefully, very carefully. Morgan, in his article says, “If RSE is not able to reach an agreement with Glendale, sources (my bold) have said that John Kaites’ group is still a possibility to purchase the team, as would be Greg Jamison’s group if it could gather the necessary investors. But multiple sources (my bold) have said that the NHL is no longer interested in dealing with Darin Pastor, whose bid was recently rejected by the league.” These sources with no attribution are dealing in speculation. Could be fact. Could be fiction.  Giblin, in his article, says, “Sherwood said he believes (my bold) any potential owners will want to be paid substantially more than $6 million a year, which is the figure that’s been earmarked in numerous proposed city budgets for the arena management fee.” One person’s belief, especially in this instance, is not fact when there are 6 other councilmembers who may, or may not share that belief.

board-gosbee

George Gosbee

Leblanc

Anthony LeBlanc

What have we learned that we did not already know?  Bettman, Daly, Gosbee and LeBlanc will meet the Glendale city council on Tuesday, May 28th. It appears that RSE will become the NHL’s choice as owner. That is an assumption until the NHL makes a formal announcement. Public release of the facts of the deal are essential. Questions need answers, such as:  Is there an opt-out or relocation clause? What is the time period for either? What is the ratio of equity to debt? Councilmember Sherwood stated publicly that we will hear the deal parameters at the council workshop on Tuesday, June 4, 2013.

There is another fact that is being ignored and perhaps it will be ignored permanently as the city has the discretion to ignore all or part of the Beacon RFP– and that is the Beacon Sports/City of Glendale RFP requirements on page 5:

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications for Managers.

In order to have its response evaluated, a Manager (or if an affiliate, its parent company) must demonstrate at least one of the following requirements:

i. Is a nationally or regionally recognized facility management company which manages publicly or privately-owned public assembly and/or sports and entertainment facilities;

ii. During the past three years, has successfully managed at least one NHL or National Basketball Association (“NBA”)/all-purpose arenas with a seating capacity of at least 10,000 persons; or;

iii. The Manager must have current experience in operating such a facility on behalf of a public entity, such as the City of Glendale;

The Renaissance Sports and Entertainment group was organized only recently for the express purpose of attempting to purchase the Coyotes. They have no demonstrable experience as a fledgling group in managing any sports or entertainment facilities, much less an NHL or NBA all-purpose arena.

Coalition 1 photo

Glendale City Council
CM Alvarez absent

I applaud Bettman and Daly having finally made a decision in terms of ownership but what were they thinking? The NHL must be ready to use its muscle with a “take it or leave it” strategy. Do they seriously think a MAJORITY of this council will accept as an arena manager a newly formed group with no track record in managing an arena? And do they think a MAJORITY of this council will expend more than the $6M budgeted in the soon-to-be-approved city’s Fiscal Year 2013-14 Budget? Councilmember Sherwood says he has a plan but will it turn out to be an acceptable one? Not unless this council is suddenly willing to listen to the likes of Ken Jones, Arthur Thruston and Andrew/Darcy Marwick berating them for subsidizing a sports team during the Public Comment period at every council meeting –forever.

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May 13

14

Phoenix Monarch Group may rise again

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 14, 2013
Posted in City Council Actions • City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Norma Alvarez

Norma Alvarez

At the May 7, 2013 City Council workshop during Council Comments and Suggestions, Councilmember Alvarez stepped up to the political plate once again. Her first suggestion was regarding the recruitment of a new City Attorney. She feels council should not recruit for a City Attorney but rather promote from within. She doesn’t want to spend the money. She remarked that Acting City Attorney Nick DiPiazza was doing “a good job” and that the City “should use him.” Now it appears that the city’s Human Resources department will take the lead on this search. Not a good idea. Agendas are rife within the city and will seep into the search parameters. I’ve seen it before. It’s also a bit like asking the fox to guard the hen house. This city needs a set of fresh eyes just as is needed for the City Manager’s position. Her initial thought seemed to spend all of her energy and she drifted off briefly – but wait! She wasn’t quite finished.

PMG 1In one final burst she opened the barn door for the Phoenix Monarch Group (PMG) horse. She has promoted PMG as willingly as her promotion of the Tohono O’odham. If you recall, she brokered a meeting in June, 2012 between this group and former Mayor Scruggs and former Councilmember Lieberman. At that meeting PMG made a pitch to manage Jobing.com for $7M a year while promising to bring 25 events (tractor pulls??). This time she wants council to look at outsourcing special events, marketing and the Civic Center. Obviously the criteria used in selection of a marketing and special events company will determine the Phoenix Monarch Group’s fate. It has been no secret that Alvarez thinks the money spent by the Marketing and Communications Department is wasteful and unnecessary. If there would be one department slated for oblivion it would be this one. After struggling to release her thoughts she mercifully slumped back into somnolence.

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May 13

7

Rumors are born, grow and die within hours

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 7, 2013
Posted in Jobing.com arena  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 4 Comments

On May 6, 2013 Dan Bickley posted a column on Arizona Central. Here is the link http://www.azcentral.com/insiders/danbickley/2013/05/06/coyotes-new-money-new-ownership-bid-new-problems/. It is entitled Coyotes: New money, new ownership bid, new problems. I typically do not read Mr. Bickley. He apparently is just as often wrong as he is correct in his reportage and now, as the Coyotes ownership saga comes to a head rumors are multiplying like rabbits and flying faster than a 747 jet.

Bettman

NHL Commissioner
Gary Bettman

What I did find interesting was this, “But the league wasn’t at all happy with Monday’s front-page story in the Arizona Republic, which listed the true cost of running Jobing.com Arena at less than $6 million.” Well, no one should be happy. Yesterday I posted facts and figures in three separate blogs, Fuzzy Math, A Magical, Mystical Number and There’s an Elephant in the Room. The true cost of operating Jobing.com Arena annually is about $12M.

Everyone is touting LeBlanc/Gosbee as the front-runners for ownership. Let me remind you that they are only the first participants in the parade of would-be owners. That does not make them sure-fire, guaranteed owners. Other parade participants are standing in line, Pastor, Jamison, Hulsizer, Reinsdorf and Kaites. Whoever was scheduled to meet with the current council first would have received the tag, “ front-runner.” That is exactly what it appears LeBlanc wants to happen. He would like to be declared the de facto winner of the contest and chase his other competitors away forever.

Leblanc

Anthony LeBlanc

Bickley goes on to say, LeBlanc’s group – Renaissance Sports and Entertainment “…is committed to absorbing $40 million in losses over the first four years, with an out clause if the economics don’t improve.” If Bickley’s reportage is accurate, this is a cause for concern. In the last go-round when LeBlanc was part of Ice Edge they wanted to play 4 or 5 games in Canada. I assume it was to dip their toes in the waters of the Canadian market to see if it was to their liking. A 5 year out clause, if LeBlanc is successful, may portend the Coyotes’ future. If we see another bid to play some regular season games in Canada that action will tell us more than mere words.

All of this conjecture becomes moot if there is no majority on council to support an annual lease management fee in the range of $10M to $12M. To date, it appears that this council is fixated on a $6M number. It’s a bogus number as I stated in my blog, A Magical, Mystical Number. It was created out of thin air and because it has been publicly stated ad nauseam, it is treated as if it’s a real number based on fact. What continues to amuse if it weren’t so sad, is that the current council really believes they can find an arena manger willing to take $6M a year, cover all operating costs (which means they begin by losing somewhere in the neighborhood of $6M annually) and float the city a loan to cover necessary capital repairs and replacements. Amazing! Stay tuned…Glendale’s version of the Amazing Race is not over!

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May 13

6

There’s an elephant in the room

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 6, 2013
Posted in Jobing.com arena  | Tagged With: , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

One issue not so far discussed is the issue of Capital Repairs needed for the arena. Keep in mind, my best guesstimate is that there is maybe $200,000 or $300,000 in the Capital Repairs Account. Below I’ve included Newco, LLC’s “wish list” of Additions and Capital Repairs for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2014.

Newco capital repairs

Newco LLC proposed
capital repairs 2014

As you can see, the major issue is “Arena roof work” for $2M. The entire “wish list” comes to $5.6M. The roof is leaking. It needs work. Will it cost $2M? Maybe not. I heard that the city has called in an independent consultant to study the roof and report back (at what cost and this should be considered part of the tab to fix the roof). It may be a choice between a band-aid costing much less and major surgery costing far more.

billsThe point is that in addition to the $6 M a year, a figure to which this current council is wedded, they will have to find additional dollars to repair the arena roof. In addition  to asking the new arena manager to accept a figure of $6M a year blithely mandating that entity to be willing to lose $6M a year, they also want the new arena manager to participate in the cost of capital repairs based on the Beacon RFP.

This is from the Beacon RFP, “Investment. State the amount of a proposed investment in the Arena that the Respondent Manager is willing to provide (Please review the proposed Additions and Capital Repairs Schedule for Fiscal Year ending  June 30, 2014 for further details) [the very same document you see above]. Describe any restrictions/repayment requirements [read loan to be paid back by city] on any such investment. Also describe any additional fees, restrictions or incentives that may apply to any investment.”

How many prospective owners are out there willing to accept an annual $6M management fee knowing that the costs of operating the arena are double that amount? Then ask how many prospective owners will be willing to make a loan to the city to cover all or a partial list of capital repairs?

The time has come for this current council to understand the situation factually. They also need to understand that whether the Coyotes stay or go there is a substantial bill to be paid. Having the Coyotes as an anchor tenant helps the situation not hurt it. It guarantees 40+ nights of activity at Westgate and its attendant sales tax revenues. Surely they realize the significance of that and how much it helps their bottom line. Losing the Coyotes and going it alone on managing the arena, no matter how convinced they are that it will work is a recipe for further financial disaster.

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May 13

6

Fuzzy math

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 6, 2013
Posted in City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Paul Giblin wrote an article for the Arizona Republic on May 5, 2013 entitled True Jobing.com Arena operating costs are well below what Glendale as paid. In it he states, “The true cost to operate Jobing.com Arena ranges from $5.1 million to $5.5 million a year…” Really? It’s based on fuzzy math. Below are 2 pages from Coyotes Newco, LLC. Coyotes Newco, LLC. Is the entity created and owned by the NHL for purposes of managing Jobing.com Arena.

The documents below show the proposed annual budget for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2014. In it the total revenue figure is, to be precise (something others apparently failed to do), $6,931,477.00. Total expenses are $12,468,912.00. The net operating loss is projected to be $5,537,435.00.

Newco 2 pages_Page_1

Newco proposed
budget 2014

Newco 2 pages_Page_2

Newco proposed
budget 2014

Basic math says if you spend $12.4 million and you make $6.9 million, you are in debt $5.5 million per year.A net operating LOSS is not the same as the total cost to operate the arena annually. How can anyone can throw out a figure of $5 or $5.5 million and claim that is the cost to operate the arena? At best, it appears to be irresponsible and misleading to the general public. It provides erroneous fodder to the opponents of any fee paid whatsoever to operate the arena annually. Did I mention that this proposed budget includes very few non-hockey events? This budget is subject to change in an upward direction in terms of loss as more non-hockey events are added.

Has the NHL made money on operating the arena for two years at a total cost of $50 million? Yes, probably but since January, 2013 through the date of July 1, 2013 when a new manager is mandated to assume control of the arena the NHL has not been paid a single cent to operate the arena. So I think it’s fair to add another $6 million in expenses for these 6 months. While the city has paid the first $25 million the NHL has not, as of this date, called for payment of the second $25 million. It still, to this day, sits in a city escrow account, untouched.

Mr. Giblin also recites current rhetoric on the street that says that the LeBlanc/Pastor group are the frontrunners. They may be only in the sense that they are the FIRST group to have all of its ducks lined up for presentation to the NHL and the city. Are they first in the hearts and minds of the NHL? I doubt that. The NHL will accept the offer that is best suited to their needs. In an April 29, 2013 interview Mr. Daly said, “Yes. I mean, again, and I should clarify this. I mean, there’s no doubt that we’re dealing with Mr. Gosbee and Mr. LeBlanc and trying to work through and get to a deal with them but there are other interested people who continue, we’re working with at the same time as well. Nobody has exclusivity here (bold mine). Um, but obviously we’re getting close to having to make some decisions and sign some documentation and you know, we’ve got to work on it. I was on a conference call again last night. It’s something we’re working on”.

Despite the LeBlanc/Gosbee group’s effort to minimize others who are in the running to purchase the team, all others are still viable and not to be discounted no matter how much LeBlanc and Gosbee would like you to do so. Craig Morgan reported on May 5, 2013 that LeBlanc/Gosbee and the NHL would be in town on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 to meet with the city. Why Tuesday? Why not Monday or Wednesday? Tuesday is the scheduled City Council Workshop session. On its Executive agenda one of the items is a Coyotes discussion. This is typical Glendale. Who do you think the council will be talking to in Esession on Tuesday? You win! It will be the NHL, LeBlanc and Gosbee (or their representatives). At an upcoming Tuesday council Esession they could be meeting Pastor, Hulsizer, Reinsdorf, Kaites or Jamison. Take your pick.

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Apr 13

17

City council plays the same song…over…and over…and over

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 17, 2013
Posted in City Council Actions • City of Glendale • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , | 2 Comments

cit mtg 2Congratulations are in order to city staff. At the City Council workshop of April 16, 2013 working in an atmosphere where the current city council is loathe to make any budget cuts that are associated with layoffs and in fact wants to add additional police and fire positions is difficult, to say the very least. The cuts that this council will not accept remain necessary even as they collectively stick their heads in the sand.

Staff, knowing that cuts to the budget will not be accepted, took the obverse approach and has offered this council revenue enhancement. It seems that raising property taxes and collecting additional revenue from the Enterprise Funds for services provided by the General Fund may be the answer. This is not the final solution, however. As Ms. Schurhammer stated today, budget cuts, albeit more modest ones, are still needed and the sooner the better. As she and the rest of staff have said repeatedly the city’s budget has a structural deficit. In other words, more is spent than is taken in.

Knaack

Yvonne Knaack

It was noted that Vice Mayor Knaack, a member in good standing for many years, of the “gang of four” (voting bloc of the former mayor), now repudiates the former mayor’s imperative to keep the city’s property tax rate low. She actually had the temerity to say that she never supported the former mayor’s desire to keep property taxes artificially low. Too bad she never spoke out publicly or demonstrated her beliefs in a vote.

Chavira photo

Sam Chavira

Councilmember Chavira once again, embarrassingly and obviously, carried fire’s water bucket in an attempt to get this council to support granting the 15 fire fighter positions (at a cost of $1.5M every year) coveted by the fire department. If one didn’t know his agenda all one had to do was watch his performance in feeding positive questions to the Fire Chief to immediately figure it out. Every once in a while he would throw the police department a bone by including them in the discussion but his sole objective was to advance the cause of his brother firefighters. Mr. Bowers, Interim City Manager, made it very clear that the staff recommendation is to deny any supplemental requests this year including those of fire and police. His reasoning was straight forward and quite clear, “The city simply does not have the money.” This time, at least for now, council listened and it appears that these supplementals will not be granted. This council is not quite done with this subject. I suspect they will look for other means to grant, at the very least, fire’s supplemental.

Sherwood

Gary Sherwood

Councilmember Sherwood once again raised the question as to whether a figure of $6M was adequate for the arena costs. He became a little confused in attempting to get the figure of annual revenue the arena generated (not all of Westgate…and the western world…thank you) out. Well, we, dear readers, already know what that figure is from a previous blog where I conveyed the average numbers reported by the NHL as the manager of the arena. Ta Da! That revenue figure averages $6 to $7 million annually. No one else on council seemed interested in a workshop on arena costs and revenues so it died as a future topic.

musicCouncilmember Alvarez appears to have only two songs in her repertoire. One is the siren song to support the Tohono O’odham in its quest to plant a casino in Glendale less than a quarter mile away from Westgate. Again she called for a public forum (read free favorable publicity for the Tohono O’odham) before council. Again, she was rejected by a majority of the council. Does she not understand that the city is a party to state and Tribal interest litigation against the casino?

Norma Alvarez

Norma Alvarez

Her other one-note song is blaming others for her belief in the city’s continual waste of money. Please note it is a waste of money to her if it is not being spent to increase the salaries of its low wage employees. Her public definition of low wage employees is anyone making under $130,000. My goodness…reminds me of Obama’s definition of the rich ($250K annually, for tax purposes)!  Today’s rant on city waste was twofold: the absolute waste of the city’s involvement in Camelback Ranch and the car dealership coming finally to Bell Road with the city’s incentive to forgive a portion of sales tax for a specified amount of time. She refuses to understand that the dollar a year rental of Camelback Ranch for the teams is in exchange for their picking up the tab for operating and maintaining the facility year round (saving the city a cost of easily a million dollars a year). Instead of taking the time to truly understand the issue we hear her accusations of the city being too busy thinking of the glory of sports and not realizing that sports bring the city nothing. What she fails to realize that as part of this new council she bears the same baggage as the rest of them. On her watch the dealership will come in. Therefore on her watch the dealership will receive the sales tax incentive.

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Mar 13

26

Just..nothing

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 26, 2013
Posted in City Council Actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , | 3 Comments

city hall 2

City Hall

On Tuesday, March 26, the Glendale City Council met in regular session. There were 29 agenda items. Based on previous meetings that I attended as a council member that is a pretty hefty agenda. Lo and behold! This council whipped through it in the record time of one hour! One could assume that it was because of their extreme efficiency but that would be an erroneous assumption. This is a council that questions nothing and comments even less. My first question would be, did any of them do their homework and actually read the material?

Coalition 1 photo

City Council minus
Councilwoman Alvarez

For example, Item 20 was an agreement to rebuild two refuse trucks. Not sexy at all. But one replacement truck costs about $500K. For half that price, roughly $250K two trucks are being rebuilt. This is an action never before taken by our Public Works department. You would think some on council would have thanked Mr. Stuart Kent, Executive Director of Public Works, for taking this proactive and innovative approach to city equipment, saving the city easily a half million dollars. Not a peep from this council. Just…nothing. Amazing.

westgate 1There was approval of an agreement with the current Westgate owners for sidewalks, shade canopies, etc. between Tanger Outlet and the rest of Westgate. No one on council took the time to thank the owners for their efforts and financial participation in this public-private partnership. No one asked about implementation of a “HAWK” system for pedestrians trying to cross 95th Avenue to get to Westgate. There is a “HAWK” in use on Glendale Avenue at about 66th Avenue. It allows the pedestrian to push a button which causes a yellow light to flash followed by a red light to stop all vehicular traffic. It allows the pedestrian to cross a busy street safely by stopping all vehicular traffic in both directions. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful addition to move pedestrian traffic between Tanger and the rest of Westgate? Before I left council I was advocating such a strategy. Sadly, no one took up the cause.

There were four items that you would think would have engendered at least minimal questioning or comment.  Two were awards of contracts. One was Item #16 to Haralson, Miller, Pitt, Feldman & McAnally in the amount of $200,000 for an external city audit and the other was Item #21 to Beacon Sports in the amount of $100,000 for issuance of an RFP and handling of negotiations with possible arena managers. There was not one question. There was not one comment. There was no discussion whatsoever. Could ‘a been a day in the park. Not one word to the general public about either contract’s terms, scope, time frame, or justification for cost. Just…nothing.

Skeete

Horatio Skeete

Bowers

Dick Bowers

The other two items were just as astounding.  Item #26 was termination of Horatio Skeete as Interim City Manager and demotion back to Assistant City Manager. Not a “thank you.” Not a word of recognition for the good things he had done for the city. Not even a comment from Mayor Weiers saying “that council was moving in a new direction.” Just…nothing. In the next action, Item #27, council appointed Dick Bowers as Interim City Manager. Not a word about his background, expertise or experience. Just…nothing. Item #28 was tabled by staff and signals that council has not come to terms with Mr. Tindall on what he will receive financially upon his termination. That did not slow up this council for one minute as they approved Nick Dipiazza as Interim City Attorney in Item #29. Just…nothing.

Norma Alvarez

Norma Alvarez

Once again Councilmember Alvarez was AWOL. How many times has it been? Also worth noting (and I may have missed it as I watched dumbfounded by this council) was the lack of a vote by council to approve her absence.  Did she not want to be on record as a yea or nay vote on the Beacon Sports contract or has she injured herself again? For the third or fourth time? Her lack of representation of the interests of ALL (not just a selected demographic) of the people of her district is being noted by many.

Weiers

Mayor Weiers

Mayor Weiers “good ole boy” public persona is beginning to wear thin as he fancies himself a “deal maker” behind the scenes. Latest word on the street with regard to Coyotes ownership is that nobody is in charge (except for Beacon Sports as of today for a $100,000 fee). Possible owners are speaking directly to various councilmembers to encourage them to champion their proposal. What a way to set up internal warfare.

Of course, the carpetbaggers, Andrew and Darcy Marwick, residents of Phoenix were in attendance. Some people (not I) refer to them as “Dumb and Dumber.” Mr. Marwick took the occasion of approval of the agreement with the Westgate owners to once again denigrate the actions of the previous council in “propping up” a failed Westgate. I would imagine he could opine on any subject (as he often does) and claim its failure is due to the previous council.

Lastly, when was the last time there was no citizen comment at the end of a council meeting? I would venture to say,convention 2 probably 4 years. If the past council had voted to approve the Beacon Sports contract, I dare say Ken Jones and half dozen others would have been railing against such a vote. No Jones, no Thruston, no Dempskey- no usual cast of wacky characters- to accuse this council of throwing good money after bad by approving Beacon Sports. This time just…nothing.

transparentThe new buzz word in government is “transparency.” We all know what it means; the ability to see through something without any kind of blockage. Transparency has to do with disclosure. It means providing information about an issue, event, project, policy, program etc. and then providing a way for people to find and view that information. This council proved tonight that transparency is not a meaningful part of its agenda.

I prefer to call this council, the “Opaque Council” (The OC). Something is opaque when you cannot see through it. Theopaque action is characterized as hard to understand because it is not clear or is obscured by the deliberate misuse of language or inaction. It also has a secondary meaning, which is being dull, stupid or unintelligent. I leave it to you, dear reader, to choose which definition of opaque is more relevant and meaningful to you.

 

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Feb 13

27

Glendale City Attorney asked to resign

Posted by Joyce Clark on February 27, 2013
Posted in Blogs • City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Glendale City Attorney Craig Tindall

Glendale City Attorney
Craig Tindall

On Tuesday, February 26, 2013, the City Council held an Executive session for the express purpose of meeting with and discussing the performance of Craig Tindall, City Attorney. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall!

As with all E sessions we will never know exactly what took place and what was said. We do know that Tindall agreed orally to tender his resignation and we now await his formal letter of same. I suspect in the coming days leaks will pour from the City. It’s happened many times in the past and I expect it to occur this time.

Weiers

Mayor Weiers

Mayor Weiers announced that he had asked for Tindall’s resignation and today the Arizona Republic reported Weiers “citing a need to move in a different, more business-friendly, direction.” Weiers is trying to position himself as a strong mayor. Don’t be fooled. In Glendale the City Charter has established a Mayor-Manager form of government. It still takes four votes, or a majority, of the City Council to issue policy or to take any action, including that of asking the City Attorney for his resignation.  As much as Mayor Weiers would like to wave his scepter and make unilateral policy, he still needs to gather 3 more supporters from those pesky councilmembers.

Martinez Knaack Sherwood

Martinez-Knaack-Sherwood

Coalitions are forming among the City Council and their outlines are beginning to emerge. In the same news article, the Arizona Republic quoted Vice Mayor Knaack as saying, “Seriously, I’m going to cry.” One can read into that statement that the Vice Mayor was probably not in the coalition to boot Tindall out. It went on to quote Councilmember Gary Sherwood, “What I don’t like are the people who wanted him to be gone hiding behind a veil that said we’re going a different direction.” Hmmm…don’t think Sherwood was in favor of getting rid of Tindall either. Can we add anyone else to this emerging coalition? How about Councilmember Martinez? It’s no secret that he and Councilmember Alvarez have often clashed publicly. So Coalition #1 is comprised of Knaack, Sherwood and Martinez.

Norma Alvarez

Norma Alvarez

Hugh Chavira

Ian Hugh, Sam Chavira

Coalition #2, almost by default, is Alvarez, Hugh and Chavira. Make no mistake; Councilmember Alvarez is leading this coalition’s parade. Councilmembers Hugh and Chavira owe Alvarez for her marshaling of support for their successful runs, especially from the Tohono O’odham. Norma has said that Tindall “disrespected” her publicly. Why? Because he didn’t give her answers/opinions that supported her statements or her agenda? Which leads one to surmise that if one doesn’t support her point of view or agenda then one is being “disrespectful.”

What then about Mayor Weiers? Right now he’s in the catbird seat. Pick any issue and right now he has the luxury of jumping from one side to the other. He also has the luxury of furthering the animosity that already exists between the two coalitions. He can play both sides against the middle. Wow! All this from a guy who said he was a fence-mender and would work to create harmony on council.

I think what disturbs me about the situation as it played out is the absence of professionalism and the sense of urgency. Why? In four months Tindall would have faced his annual performance review by Council.  That time would have been appropriate for a parting of the ways and the avoidance of embarrassment to a Council appointed employee. Tindall, no matter your opinion of him, served this city for 12, almost 13 years and earned professional action regarding his employment.

I suspect the other Council appointed officials still standing, namely the Interim City Manager and the City Clerk, should be forewarned. A house cleaning appears to be occurring. Why only clean half your house when you can do it all?

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