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Minutes of January, 2004 Meeting


2004-01-08

Big Park Regional Coordinating Council

Minutes of January 2004 Meeting

 

  1. The January 8, 2004 Big Park Regional Coordinating Council meeting was called to order by President Zona Fink at 9:00AM at the Big Park Fire Station Meeting Room.  16 members were present, which is a quorum.
  2. The minutes of the December 11th meeting were approved as presented.
  3. Treasurer’s report – Don Beard reported that there were expenses of $30 for December and that the year-end balance for the Regular account was $1,286.  Also, with the donation by the Sedona Village Business Association of $950 and expenses of $186, the Recreation account balance is now $772.  In addition, the Skateboard account balance is $145 and the balance for the Jim Patterson memorial (Village Park Recreation Inc.) remains at $720.  Report was approved.
  4. 2004 Budget – Don Beard presented the proposed 2004 Budget for BPRCC of $2,380 -- $250 higher than the 2003 budget.  It is believed that additional monies will be required to cover higher meeting room rentals as well as miscellaneous expenses associated with the SR179 project.  The Budget was approved as presented.
  5. Election of Officers for 2004 – The slate of Big Park Council officers for 2004 was approved as follows:
    1. President – Don Beard
    2. Vice President – Zona Fink
    3. Secretary – John Gillam
    4. Treasurer – Bert Berkshire

Members expressed their appreciation to outgoing President, Zona Fink, for her her dedication and hard work the past two years.   As a result of Zona’s efforts, the Council is stronger and more responsive to Community needs.

The newly elected President, Don Beard, received a Gavel from outgoing President, Zona Fink and took over the Chair of the meeting.

 

  1. Committee Reports:
    1. Transportation Committee:

                                               i.     SR 179 Process—Tom Hutchinson reported that Charrette #2 of the SR179 Needs Based Implementation Process (NBIP) will be held on Jan 14,15, 19, 20 & 22nd.   The priorities evaluation on Jan. 15th and the Gaming Exercise on Jan. 20th appear to be the most critical for affecting the ultimate SR 179 design configuration.  Charrette #3 is tentatively scheduled for mid-April.

                                              ii.     Alternate Route – Proposals, including the 11 routes that have been proposed over the past several years, will be discussed at the January 26th Transportation Committee meeting.  Representatives from CFAR and Yavapai County engineers have been invited and all BPRCC members are encouraged to attend.   For background on potential route alternatives, opinions and history of the issue, Council members are encouraged to visit the following websites:

1.     CFAR – www.cfarxing.org

2.     RRRR  – www.redrockxing.org

                                             iii.     Traffic Lights – It is still anticipated that the traffic signal at Cortez and SR179 will be installed in January or February.

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    1. Planning and Zoning Committee:

                                               i.     Park Plaza at Las Piedras -- Judy Cooper reported that after 6 months of hard work with all concerned parties, the P&Z committee has developed a consensus on most all issues with the applicant (32 areas of concern as well as 2 lists of issues from the neighbors) and recommended support of the Council on its recommendation with the following stipulations:

1.     If propane is used, all tanks shall be underground;

2.     Continue efforts with APS to place existing overhead wires underground;

3.     No free standing signs in the Highway corridor.

4.     Section 415 RS sub E (Private Clubs) shall be limited to the western half of the property;  

5.     Lot B (across Avenue de Piedras) be committed as permanent open space;

6.     Parking after 10PM and before 6AM would be limited to occupant related vehicles (no RVs, boats, etc. parked on the site).

Mr. Henry Reiter, the Developer’s representative spoke briefly and thanked the P&Z Committee for its efforts.  He explained that that they to are in favor of the open space (item #5 above), but that this would reduce the number of parking spaces below the minimum required by County ordinance.  His feedback from County “Staff” was that the County would not support this idea.  In any case, reserve parking wouldn’t be paved, but landscaped.  It was also explained that the project will be constructed in two phases (40,000 and 20,000 sq. ft. respectively) and that the 2nd phase area would be left in a natural state until it is ready for construction  (in approximately five years).

The Council approved the P&Z Committee’s recommendation, including special thanks to the Committee for its hard work, patience and dedication during this extended process.

                                              ii.     Art/Tent Shows – The P& Z committee recommends renewal of the permit for 2 years with 15 shows per year in Bell Rock Plaza; the original request was to allow up to 24 shows on a permanent basis at the site.  The Committee objected to any additional numbers of “permanent” shows (vs. the 4 presently) until work has completed with the local business association and property owners to develop a policy relative to the number of shows and their frequency.   The Council approved the P&Z recommendation for the 2 year extension of the permit and rejection of the original request for 24 shows on a permanent basis.

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    1. Recreation Committee:

                                               i.     Update on park -- Dorothy Hores reported that the new Park equipment has been installed.  The formal dedication will be held after the County has been able to complete the extensive site improvements (rest rooms, etc.).

                                              ii.     Goals for the coming year – The Recreation Committee would like to increase its efforts to reach out to the youth of the Community in 2004 and increase participation in youth activities.

 

  1. Old Business:
    1. Shell Canopy – Timing is still TBD, but Joanne Johnson will follow up to clarify present plan for replacing the yellow canopy with a brown one.
    2. Gas Line  -- Per Hector Rojas of Unisource Energy, a preliminary EA is due this month and that Unisource plan to have a public meeting within the next couple of months.
  2. New Business:
    1. Possible By-laws Change – Jeff Dunn and Dorothy Hores passed out a potential By-law change affecting Article VI, Section 6.  The wording is as follows:

                                               i.     There shall be an Executive Board composed of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Immediate Past President of the Corporation .  .  .  .  .  .  Past Presidents of the Corporation, other than the immediate past President, who reside in the Big Park Community, shall be entitled to serve as ex-officio members without a vote on the Executive Board.

The purpose of the change is to maintain continuity as well as to spread out the workload of individual Board members.  This change will be further discussed for possible adoption at the February 12th Council meeting.  If approved, the nominating committee will make an additional recommendation for a new Vice President to replace Zona Fink.

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    1. Pocket Parks – The idea of creating small open space areas (pocket parks) along the new SR179 was discussed.  Potential locations include property presently owned by VOCA on both sides of the highway right away as well as a portion of the new Avenida de Piedras Development as discussed above.  Yavapai County input will be solicited and advanced preparation for future grants should be explored.
    2. BPRCC Reps. and Alts.  PROBLEM: The BPRCC Bylaws provide one vote per member association.  As we reach out for new leadership among the officers, we are tapping Alternates from our membership association, and alternates can vote only in the absence of the Representative.  In 2004, the approved new slate of officers contains one Rep, as President (who votes only in the case of a tie), and 3 Alternates (as Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer).  The concern is that Officers who are responsible for planning and making recommendations to the Council, would not be able to vote on those or counter recommendations.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS:

                                               i.     BYLAW CHANGE:  Elected Officers, from among the Representatives and Alternates, will automatically assume the vote for their Homeowners’ Associations until their term expires.  CONCERN – this goes against the choice of the homeowners as to their Rep.

                                              ii.     BYLAW CHANGE:  Alternates who become elected Officers, will be granted the right to vote until their term expires, temporarily giving their Association 2 votes.  CONCERN – this goes against the Council’s consent to one vote per association.

                                             iii.     NO BYLAW CHANGE:  Alternates who become elected Officers, will negotiate with their Representatives to reach agreement as to who will have the vote for their Association.  CONCERN – what if the two parties can’t agree.

Council members are encouraged to consider the above for discussion at future BPRCC meetings.

 

d. Verde Valley Land Preservation Institute – Rep. Bill Kusner, explained that the        organization is now ready to expand its Board of Directors.  Interested people should look on the website @ www.vvlpi.org for further information.

 

Meeting was adjourned at 10:35 AM.

 

John Gillam,

Secretary

Approved Feb 12, 2004

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