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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-14 - Minutes -Council Member Sonia Gutierrez Ward 1 Position I Council Member Sarah Marsh Ward I Position 2 Council Member Mark Kinion Ward 2 Position I Council Member Matthew Petty Ward 2 Position 2 Mayor Lioneld Jordan City Attorney Kit Williams City Clerk Kara Paxton City of Fayetteville Arkansas Special City Council Meeting July 14, 2020 Special City Council Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 1 of 5 Council Member Sloan Scroggin Ward 3 Position 1 Council Member Sarah Bunch Ward 3 Position 2 Council Member Teresa Turk Ward 4 Position 1 Council Member Kyle Smith Ward 4 Position 2 A Special meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on July 14, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 219 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mayor Jordan called the meeting to order. In order to create social distancing due to the Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic, Council Members Sonia Gutierrez, Sarah Marsh, Mark Kinion, Matthew Petty, Sloan Scroggin, Sarah Bunch, Teresa Turk, and Kyle Smith joined the meeting via online using a video conferencing service called Zoom. Mayor Lioneld Jordan, City Attorney Kit Williams, City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton, Chief of Staff Susan Norton, IT Director Keith Macedo, Police Chief Mike Reynolds, Fire Chief Brad Hardin, Chief Financial Officer Paul Becker, and two staff members from the IT Department were present in City Council Chambers while demonstrating recommended social distancing. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor's Announcements, Proclamations and Recognitions: Mayor Jordan: In light of the current health concerns, Fayetteville City Hall is closed to the public. This meeting is being held virtually. I am present in Council Chambers with a handful of essential support staff.. City Attorney Kit Williams, City Clerk Treasurer Kara Paxton, Chief of Staff Susan Norton, IT Director Keith Macedo, Police Chief Mike Reynolds, Fire Chief Brad Hardin, Chief Financial Officer Paul Becker, and two representatives from the IT Department. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov Special City Council Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 2 of 5 City Council Members, City Staff, and the public are participating online or by phone. Other than those of us you see before you, the voices you hear during the course of this meeting are being recorded for public record and piped into the Council Chambers. Participation remains of the upmost importance to the City of Fayetteville. We have provided many ways to participate in the meeting, which includes contacting Council Members, City Clerk office or city staff prior to the meeting. The meeting can be viewed through Fayetteville's government channel online, YouTube, joining the Zoom conference by smartphone, tablet or computer. Instructions are shown onscreen. Staff can view when you join the meeting and when you raise your virtual hand. We ask that you refrain from doing this until the public comment portion of the item on which you wish to comment. I will provide a longer than usual period of time for you to raise your virtual hand. When recognized, please state your name and address for the record. Public comment shall be allowed for all members of the audience who have signed up prior to the beginning of the agenda item they wish to address being opened for public comment. Each speaker is allowed five minutes to be broken into two segments of three and two minutes, which staff will monitor. Amendments may receive public comments only if approved by the City Council by unanimous consent or majority vote. If public comment is allowed for an amendment, speakers will only be allowed to speak for three minutes. The City Council may allow both a speaker additional time and an unsigned -up person to speak by unanimous consent or majority vote. City Council Meeting Presentations, Reports, and Discussion Items: None Agenda Additions: None New Business: Amend 178.02 Sidewalk Cafes: An ordinance to amend 178.02 Sidewalk Cafes to remove certain permitting requirements during the period of the Covid-19 Pandemic, to temporarily authorize the use of paid public parking spaces as sidewalk cafes by adjacent businesses upon payment of the appropriate fees, to clarify the authorized areas of operation of businesses in an Entertainment District, and to declare an emergency. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Mayor Jordan: I'm bringing this forward. Staff and I have been working on this for about a week. With the situation with our businesses and the businesses we are beginning to lose, I want to give them every availability to do be able to continue to do business during this pandemic. This is going to waive the permitting fees and the application process for sidewalk cafes. This will streamline the process and remove any barriers they may have. It's going to streamline the process for use of parklets within city owned parking spaces enabling the development of parklets by businesses, not any fees or reviews, as long as they stay within guideline developments by city staff and pay the daily rate per space. This continues the paid parking program, which allows us to make the payments on a parking deck on our bonds in the downtown area. If the business wants to 113 West Mountain Fayetteville. AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar gov Special City Council Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 3 of 5 participate, they have to pay the daily rate. It amends the language in the outdoor refreshment area ordinance in anticipation of other outdoor refreshment areas being developed. I am trying to help our businesses survive in the city. Garner Stoll, Development Services Director gave a brief description of the ordinance. Mary McGetrick, Long Range Planning/Special Projects Manager spoke about the intent of a parklet. She spoke about the success of parklets in other cities and attributing saving some businesses by using parklets. She spoke about business revenue. She spoke about the design guidelines and meeting ADA guidelines. She spoke about safety measures. She stated the parklets should be designed for easy removal and can't be nailed into the sidewalk or disturb the streetscape. She stated there would be no roof or awning. She stated sight lines can't be obstructed. Council Member Petty stated he is thrilled this is happening. He suggested that the parklets should be permanent because businesses could benefit from this even after COVID is over. He thanked Mayor Jordan for bringing the item forward. Mayor Jordan: You are welcome. Council Member Bunch stated she is glad they are doing this. She spoke about enjoying parklets at other cities she visited. She stated it is a novel approach to using space. She stated parklets draw people in. Council Member Gutierrez: I am very excited about it, overall. On Block Street there are meters and day rates for parking. What would be the fee? Paul Becker, Chief Financial officer: Justin Clay is going to calculate the exact fees on those based on the usage. Mayor Jordan: Whatever the daily rate is, we will estimate it. Paul Becker: That is correct. Garner Stoll: Mayor, we have that information. It is approximately $5 per day, per space on Dickson Street and half that much for the rest of downtown. Justin Clay, Parking Manager: That is accurate. The maximum daily rate is $5 in the Entertainment District. It is $2.50 in the Downtown Business District, which would be the Square and the surrounding areas. Those are already set in ordinance. Molly Rawn, CEO of the Advertising and Promotion Commission thanked Mary and city staff for bringing the item forward. She stated businesses are hurting and it's imperative that the city adapt and do whatever can be done to help. She stated it seems to be tied very closely to bars and restaurants and wants to know if there can be ways in the future to look at amending other ordinances to make this more accessible to retail operations. She spoke in favor of the ordinance. 113 West Mountain Fayetteville. AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 wwvo.fayetteville-ar gov Special City Council Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 4 of 5 Council Member Kinion moved to suspend the rules and go to the second reading. Council Member Turk seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Gutierrez moved to suspend the rules and go to the third and final reading. Council Member Kinion seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed unanimously. City Attorney Kit Williams read the ordinance. Council Member Smith: The provision about expiring at the end of the health emergency, was there a specific reason why staff chose to expire this? Mayor Jordan: We are just trying to get through this pandemic and help all the businesses that I can. We could have probably looked at more time, but right now I wanted to get us through the pandemic. We still have not got on the bar end of it. We still have to get a decision from the ABC. They may not allow us to do that. We are passing something that they may or may not approve. We are hopeful that they will. I have sent a letter to the Economic Recovery Statewide Committee. We are in an emergency situation and we need to act quickly. Kit has been instrumental in helping us draw this up. There was a brief description about the letter that was sent. City Attorney Kit Williams: We have a little bit more power than normal under this pandemic emergency, even though the ordinance was not continued. State law still gives you further authority during a pandemic emergency declared by the Governor, which he continues to extend it. This could be a pilot project to see how well something like this works and whether any changes might be needed. It's much safer right now to do it during the pandemic when we have additional power. Council Member Smith: Thank you. There was some talk about a desire to make it permanent. Mayor Jordan: Yes, there was some talk about that. Council Member Smith: I am completely comfortable with the idea that we have got a lot of things still up in the air that are undecided. There may be variations and tweaks on it that we want to make when it becomes permanent. Mayor Jordan: I agree with you. Right now, I am just managing this the best I can with what we have before us. Council Member Bunch: Are the three spaces standard that other cities use? Mary McGetrick: Yes, it's a standard that other cities have put into place. Walking down Dickson, you want to make sure each business gets a fair shot. Some businesses have a little bit 113 West Mountain Fayetteville. AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 www fayetteville-ar.gov Special City Council Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 5 of 5 more frontage than others. Some businesses split the frontage of the parking space. You want to prevent a business from taking up a space that they may not need. Council Member Bunch: Is it a 5% grade? Mary McGetrick stated yes. She spoke about ways to incorporate a parklet on a slope and still meet ADA regulations. She stated she was working individually with businesses to help meet their needs. Council Member Bunch: Even if there is a slope for the parking and the parklet is more level, it could work? Mary McGetrick: Absolutely. There are ways to make it work. Council Member Petty: Since we aren't going to make it permanent tonight, can we get a commitment that we will receive a report shortly before or after this expires so it doesn't fall through the cracks? Mayor Jordan: Absolutely, we will do that. Thank you to Mary, Garner, Devin, Justin, Kit, Blake, and Susan for their work on this. Mayor Jordan asked shall the ordinance pass. Upon roll call the ordinance passed unanimously. Mayor Jordan: Thank you_ Council. I know the businesses will appreciate that. Ordinance 6332 as Recorded in the office of the City Clerk Council Member Bunch made a motion to approve an Emergency Clause. Council Member Gutierrez seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 6-0. Council Members Gutierrez, Marsh, Kinion, Scroggin, Bunch, and Turk voting yes. Council Members Smith and Petty were absent during the vote. 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