MINUTES OF THE PEORIA CITY COUNCIL CITY OF PEORIA, ARIZONA PINE ROOM, CITY HALL November 20, 2007 A Study Session Meeting of the City Council of the City of Peoria, Arizona was convened at 8401 West Monroe Street in open and public session at 4:02 p.m. Members Present: Mayor Bob Barrett; Vice Mayor Vicki Hunt; Councilmembers Ron Aames, Cathy Carlat, Joan Evans, Carlo Leone and Dave Pearson. Members Absent: None Other Municipal Officials Present: Terrence Ellis, City Manager; Carl Swenson, Deputy City Manager; Susan Thorpe, Deputy City Manager; John Wenderski, Deputy City Manager; Steve Kemp, City Attorney; Mary Jo Kief, City Clerk; Stephen Bontrager, J.P. de la Montaigne, Brent Mattingly, Bill Mattingly, Bob McKibben, Grady Miller, Dave Moody, Steve Prokopek, Larry Ratcliff, Sandy Teetsel, Jeff Tyne, Glen Van Nimwegen, and Gina Soria. Audience: Approximately 15 members of the public were present. Subject for Discussion only: 1. Branding Project Carl Swenson, Deputy City Manager, explained Northstar Destination Strategies will present logos and provide recommendations on how to implement them. Grady Miller, Communications and Public Affairs Director, explained that the logos were re-designed based on the consensus of Council at a prior Study Session. Amy Bailey, Community Brand Supervisor for Northstar Destination Strategies, commented on the brand positioning platform and the strap-line “Naturally Connected,” which represents Peoria’s connection to natural beauty and community services. Ms. Bailey highlighted Peoria’s connection to Lake Pleasant and the importance of emphasizing it in the strap-lines. She commented on the City of Goodyear’s use of the phrase “Feel the Connection” and stated it is not their brand. Ms. Bailey presented the logos and explained their rationale. She commented on the colors and shapes used to represent connections to Peoria, such as Lake Pleasant and trails. Ms. Bailey provided applications of the logo throughout the City, such as on fountains, downtown signs, and apparel. Discussion ensued on brand building ideas. Ms. Bailey provided suggestions on how to launch the brand and commented on a possible three-dimensional topographic representation of Peoria in City Hall. Discussion ensued on the City seal. Mr. Swenson stated that the logo will not replace the City seal as there is a continuous application for the seal on official documents. Ms. Bailey noted the logo is for external marketing. Councilmember Aames commented on “Naturally Connected” as the strap-line and suggested possible tests with focus groups. Mr. Miller noted branding projects evolve over time and form the basis for marketing schemes. Council discussed the strap-lines and logos. The consensus was for “Naturally Connected” and Council expressed a logo preference. Councilmember Leone discussed the City seal’s history, its use as a logo, and the implementation of a new logo. Ms. Bailey noted the logo should not be the focus and emphasized the importance of the brand platform. Mr. Miller reported the implementation plan will be brought before Council. Clerk’s Note: The Branding Project presentation is on file in the Clerk’s Office. 2. Mid-Year Budget Review Terry Ellis, City Manager, explained the Mid-Year Budget Review is to update Council on the City’s financial condition. Brent Mattingly, Chief Financial Officer, provided an overview of Fiscal Year (FY) 07 General Fund Revenues and Expenditures. He reported on FY08 General Fund Revenues and commented on the volatility of revenues with the construction market. Mr. Mattingly explained that the budget methodology used only forecast ongoing sustainable base amounts. He discussed building permits and highlighted the estimated number of permits for 2008 and 2009. Mr. Mattingly reported on the General Fund balance and funding for the FY08 budget. He highlighted available funding for the FY09 budget which will facilitate Capital projects and allow one-time budget supplement requests for departments. Discussion ensued on the Half-Cent Sales Tax Fund. Mr. Mattingly reviewed the fund balance and reported on-going uses and significant one-time uses. Jeff Tyne, Budget Director, reported on the funding sources for the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for FY08-FY2017. He discussed development impact fees and highlighted single-family permit activity. Mr. Tyne commented on General Obligation Bonds, which is the largest revenue source for the CIP. It is supported through a secondary property tax levy based on an assessed value of the overall City and requires voter approval. Mr. Tyne discussed the Operating Fund and long-range economic forecasts, including city population growth. He noted the City’s population continues to grow at a faster rate than the State, which benefits the City in receiving State-shared revenues. State- shared revenues account for one-third of the General Fund. Mr. Tyne highlighted an expected increase in FY12 as the City will begin receiving new allocations based on the census. Mr. Tyne reported on the Primary Property Tax Levy and clarified that a 5-cent reduction was forecasted for the primary property tax rate per Council direction. He discussed the General Fund forecast and commented on available one-time uses. Mr. Tyne discussed FY09 budget issues, including: economic slowdown, maintenance of existing service levels, operating impacts of CIP, and identifying costs for user services. Mr. Tyne reported on Street Funds. He clarified the fund is primarily for the support and maintenance of existing streets, but is also an important source for pay-as-you-go funding for Capital street projects. Discussion ensued on the Transportation Sales Tax Fund. Mr. Tyne commented on available funds to support pay-as-you-go street projects or potential financing to accelerate projects. He clarified the on-going obligations are lower than the revenues, thus allowing flexibility in supporting one-time Capital projects. Mr. Mattingly commented on using the revenue source to issue debt to fund Happy Valley Road and other projects. Mr. Tyne reported on property tax initiatives, state legislative adjustments, franchise fee limitations, and national benchmark data. He reviewed key dates in the FY09 budget process. Clerk’s Note: The Mid-Year Budget Review presentation is on file in the Clerk’s Office. Adjournment: Being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was duly adjourned at 5:46 p.m. ____ __________________________________ Bob Barrett, Mayor ATTEST: ______________________________________ Mary Jo Kief, City Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Study Session Meeting of the City Council of Peoria, Arizona held on the 20th day of November, 2007. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 15th day of January, 2008. (Seal) ______________________________________ Mary Jo Kief, City Clerk