The Town Council has passed a resolution finalizing a call for the referendum election on the Daybreak development land use provisions on Tuesday, May 19, 2020.

Voters will also consider a second question on the ballot, one which calls for the term of the mayor for the Town of Fountain Hills to be extended to four years from the current two.

The council approved both resolutions at its Dec. 17 regular session.

The referendum election is the result of a group of citizens circulating petitions to have earlier council decisions to approve a General Plan amendment and a PAD zoning plan referred to a public vote for authorization.

Jeremy Hall, the developer for the Daybreak project, appeared before the council and asked that it consider delaying the election until the August council primary. Hall said he is working to get an extension to close on the property and also expects to have the site plan requested by council ready by that time.

Mayor Ginny Dickey said she had concerns about making a change because the council had made a decision on the date at its last meeting. She noted that people who attended the previous council meeting on the subject would not be aware of a possible change and would have no opportunity to comment.

The council motion was to retain the May date and that was approved.

Specific ballot language will be available in the Town Clerk’s Office and on the town’s webpage, fh.az.gov, by Jan. 5, 2020.

The questions will be presented to qualified voters of the Town of Fountain Hills in an informational pamphlet, which will be mailed to the households of all registered voters prior to the start of early voting.

Any person(s) wanting to make a statement for or against the questions may submit such questions for publication in the informational pamphlet. Each argument cannot exceed 300 words in length and must contain the sworn statement of each person sponsoring it.

If the argument is sponsored by an organization, it must contain the sworn statement of two executive officers of the organization, or if sponsored by a political committee, it must contain the sworn statement of the committee’s chairman or treasurer.

Each argument must also be submitted to the town clerk in electronic format. A payment of $100 to offset a portion of the cost of paper and printing the pamphlet must accompany the filing of each argument.

Arguments must be submitted by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, at the following location: Fountain Hills Town Clerk’s Office, 16705 E. Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting Fountain Hills Town Clerk Elizabeth Burke at 480-816-5115.

Mayor term

Town Manager Grady Miller said he had received requests from several council members asking that an extension of the mayor’s term of office be considered.

Burke said that since the original establishment of the mayor’s term at two years was done by a question referred to voters in 1992, any change should also be authorized by voters.

Councilman Art Tolis said he believes that a two-year term is appropriate for the mayor of Fountain Hills.

“It is important that the mayor have the support of the members of Town Council and a four-year term would not be very effective,” Tolis said. “If you do a good job you can be re-elected, if you want to continue.”

Tolis also asked who had asked for the council to consider the item. Vice Mayor Sherry Leckrone, who was presiding at the time as Mayor Ginny Dickey excused herself from participating in the question, stated she had asked Miller about the issue. Council members Alan Magazine and Mike Scharnow also both said they brought up the question.

Scharnow proposed that the question of the term extension come with an effective date of 2022, due to the proximity to the timing of the next council election. However, the motion was approved with an effective date of December 2020.

Councilman David Spelich said he would also like to discuss the question of term limits which, according to Town Attorney Aaron Arnson, can only be done as an initiative; the council cannot refer a question regarding term limits.