The Town Council removed several items from the list before approving a set of operational priorities for staff discussed at the January retreat.

Vice Mayor Dennis Brown suggested some of the items were simply not worth the effort to pursue in a fiscally frugal environment and with reduced staff resources.

The items Brown proposed eliminating included a review of the zoning on 15 acres of town-owned land off Shea Boulevard west off Technology Drive.

That item was suggested by Councilman Cecil Yates as a way to improve prospects of finding a developer for the property.

Brown said preliminary investigation by him and Yates have revealed that such a plan would not be viable at this time due to necessary staff effort on the project.

Brown also said he sees no point in the town attempting to accelerate the development of the former State Trust Land owned by the Ellman Companies.

“There is nothing we can really do about this and it is a waste of staff time,” Brown said.

Mayor Linda Kavanagh agreed, saying she can’t even get a return phone call from Ellman representatives.

About a year from now time runs out for Ellman to put up money to retain control of the property.

Upgrading a series of directional signs throughout the community is also a project Brown finds unnecessary at this time. He noted there is some effort to see how the existing sign structure might be improved, but he does not believe it is worth valuable staff time.

Brown also said Town Attorney Andrew McGuire had advised against an idea to assign council liaisons to various town organizations.

Although Brown said it was difficult for him to do, he also asked that a project to modify the operation times of the Fountain be eliminated.

He said this is just not the right time to pursue that project.

While cutting some of these items out of the operation plan, numerous items remain for staff priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

Those include capital improvement project related to street maintenance and relocation of Fire Station No. 2, improved pedestrian lighting at Avenue of the Fountains and Saguaro Boulevard, a digital sign on Shea Boulevard to advertise local events, rezoning of commercial properties to residential and business licenses for those participating in shows and events.

A couple of items on the list such as consolidation of commissions and dissolution of the Public Safety Advisory Commission have already been accomplished.

The council voted 7-0 to approve the operations plan to include Brown’s proposed amendments.