DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES

June 16, 2005

Members Present
Ben Barcon
Rus Brock
Gary Corcoran
Herb Hacker
Pete Hemingway
John Hart
Jake Jacobsen
Barbara Koffron
Scott Mardian
Michael McHale
Herman Orcutt
Danny Ortega
Paul Scott
Patricia Thornham

Members Absent
Carlo Gegen
Ken Roth
Greg Russell
Steve Speer
Darrell Wilson

Staff
Karen Beckley, DSD
Carole Borrego,DSD
Marchelle Franklin, Mayors Office
Deborah Larkins BCSC
Larry Litchfield, DSD
Lionel Lyons, DSD
Joanne Owens, DSD
Jim Shannon, Water Services
Cindy Stotler, DSD
John Watson, Fire

Ex-Officio's Present
Jim Baughman, Planning
Chaun Hill, Streets
Aaron LaRoque, Water Services
Mike Hamblin, Law
Patrick Ravenstein, NSD
Derek Horn, DSD

Ex-Officio's Absent
Michael Hamblin, Law

Others in Attendance
Rick Doell, Citizen

CALL TO ORDER
Herman Orcutt, DAB Chairperson, convened the meeting at 3:10 p.m.

Approval of May 19, 2005 Minutes:
Motion was made by Paul Scott seconded by Pete Hemingway to approve the meeting minutes of May 19, 2005.
Motion carried unanimously.

Call to the Public (No Board Discussion):
None

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:
Process & Procedures

Subcommittee did not meet.

Fiscal & Performance
Scott Mardian stated that this subcommittee met and discussed Evaluation Tables and mentioned that they will be adopted with the I-Codes. Mr. Mardian also stated that after 11 months, the DSD recovery fund is at $21 Million, which is likely drop a few million due to deferred expenditures.

Water Services Subcommittee
Subcommittee did not meet.

Residential Fire Sprinklers
Barbara Koffron stated that the Fire Safety Advisory Board has not met.

Technical
Subcommittee did not meet.

Update, Discussion, and Possible Action on the Development Services Department Staff Report:
Derek Horn gave a brief power point presentation showing recent performance measures within the department.

Discussion, Information, and Posible action on the nominations and election of 2005-2006 Development Advisory Board Chairperson:

MOTION was made by Scott Mardian, seconded by Ben Barcon, to nominate Barbara Koffron, DAB Vice-Chairperson, to DAB Chairperson.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

MOTION was made by Pete Hemingway, seconded by Paul Scott, to nominate Patricia Thornham, DAB Member, to DAB Vice-Chairperson.

MOTION was made by Scott Mardian, seconded by Herb Hacker, to nominate Paul Scott, DAB Member, to DAB Vice-Chairperson.

After the Board voted by secret Ballot, the votes were counted and Patricia Thornham was elected as DAB Vice-Chairperson

Testimonial and Presentation for the OOutgoing Development Advisory Baoard Chairperson, Herman Orcutt:
Lionel Lyons, Development Services Director, presented a certificate of appreciation to outgoing chairperson Herman Orcutt in recognition for his valuable contributions and years of service to the City of Phoenix Development Advisory Board. Mr. Orcutt served as DAB chairperson for two terms. On behalf of the City and the Development Services Department Mr. Lyons thanked Mr. Orcutt for his leadership to the DAB.

Update, Discussion, and Possible Action on the Development Advisory Board Term Matrix: Derek Horn reviewed with the Board a matrix that shows all of the DAB Board members, classifications, term dates, and affiliations. This matrix will be updated periodically.

Update and Discussion on the City of Phoenix Code Amendments Public Outreach Presentation: Mr. Horn reported that because of all the new code amendments, Development Services plans to reach out to the community and provide an orientation and training opportunity for the contracting and design professions. The purpose is to inform the community of the amendments and of their content. DSD is planning one session and, depending on the demand, may provide additional sessions.

The plan is to do this in August 2005. An exact date has not been scheduled yet. All DAB members will be notified along with other professionals and organizations.

Board members suggested that staff considers the differences between commercial and residential and group all commercial and residential presentations in separate sessions or modules.

Update, Information, and Discussion on the Development of the Economic Future of Construction of Phoenix:
Larry Litchfield stated that one of the functions of the DAB is to provide advice to the Development Services Department on sundry issues dealing with the operation of the department. Since the DAB’s creation in 1999, the Department has faced a record setting amount of work load and one of the nagging questions is, “How long will this work activity continue?” He stated that the Board members, as professionals in the construction industry, see the work 6 months to a year a head of the City. Currently DSD is extremely busy and asked for the Board’s input into the future intensity of development.

The DAB members were asked the following questions:

The DAB members were asked the following questions:

    1. What are you seeing in your business forecast for the next 12 months? Are you seeing growth, leveling or reduction in work activity?
    2. The consensus of the DAB was that all businesses are extremely busy and experiencing extreme growth in work activity.

    3. Is your company in a hiring mode and are you planning on making increases in your staff during the next twelve months?
    4. The majority of the businesses are planning or have already increased their staff levels. Some of the businesses are unable to find qualified individuals to fill various positions within their firms.

    5. As existing projects are being completed, are you seeing new projects take their place and are those projects larger, same size, or smaller than the current projects?

The majority of the DAB members stated that the majority of the new projects coming in are larger and more expensive. They agreed that the new projects are more complex, the sites are larger, they take much more coordination, and construction costs have risen 15 to 20%.

Update, Discussion, and Possible Action of an August Hiatus for the Development Advisory Board (Does not include the DAB Subcommittees):
Motion was made by Pete Hemingway, seconded by Barbara Koffron, for the Development Advisory Board to take a summer break for the month of August 2005 (Does not include DAB Subcommittees). Motion carried unanimously.

Discussion Regarding Future DAB Agenda Items:

  • Capital Improvement Project Discussion (September DAB Agenda)
  • DAB Members would like to see a presentation on DSD staff hours and how they relate to workload and income
  • Tour of the Development Services Department for new DAB members and members that would like to tour again

    MOTION was made by Herb Hacker, seconded by Barbara Koffron, to adjourn the June 16, 2005 meeting.
    MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

    Meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m.

    Derek Horn, P.E. CBO
    DSD Deputy Director

    Minutes Prepared by:
    Carole Borrego, Secretary III

    Last Modified on 07/21/2005 17:25:04