City Council Weekly Information Packet Friday
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City Council Weekly Information Packet Friday, March 5, 2021 Includes the following documents/information: 1) City Council Events Schedule 2) State and Federal Update & Grant Opportunities 3) Community Services Department Update 4) Update on the Status of Indoor Fitness Rooms & Aquatics 5) Community Development Activity Reports 6) Engineering & Transportation Department Update Compiled and distributed by the City Manager’s Office City Council Events Schedule March 5, 2021 thru April 5, 2021 The Mayor and City Council have been invited to attend various community meetings and public and private events at which a quorum of the City Council may be present. The Council will not be conducting city business, nor will any legal action be taken. This is an event only and not a public meeting. A list of the community meetings and public and private events along with the schedules, dates, times, and locations is attached. Organizers may require a rsvp or fee. DAY DATE TIME EVENT Fri Mar 5 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Embry Health Register: tempechamber.glueup.com Sat Mar 6 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Wilson Art & Garden Neighborhood Association Virtual Meeting https://www.zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 926 8569 5560 Passcode: WAG Zoom phone number: 1-669-900-6833 Passcode: 715083 Mon Mar 15 Noon – 1:00 p.m. Character Area 1 Virtual Kickoff https://www.zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 935 0886 0978 Passcode: Tempe Zoom phone number: 1- 699-900-6833 Passcode: 414000 Mon Mar 15 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Character Area 1 Virtual Kickoff https://www.zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 914 7357 0158 Passcode: Tempe Zoom phone number: 1- 699-900-6833 Passcode: 855904 Tue Mar 16 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Parks & Recreation Master Plan Draft Review Meeting tempe.webex.com Event number: 146 516 0160 Event password: parks Audio conference: To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the event, or call the number below and enter the access code. United States Toll +1-408-418-9388 Access code: 146 516 0160 Tue Mar 30 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Stine Wealth Financial Register: tempechamber.glueup.com 1 Mon Apr 5 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 2021 YouthFest Courage Awards and Changemaker Awards (Virtual) 03/05/2021 EF 2 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council THROUGH: Andrew Ching, City Manager FROM: Marge Zylla, Government Relations Officer DATE: March 5, 2021 SUBJECT: State and Federal Update & Grant Opportunities Below are summaries of recent actions and announcements at the state and federal level: • American Rescue Plan Act Delegation Letters • Federal Updates: Relief Package, Election, Policing, Earmarks, Communications, Climate • NLC Update, American Rescue Plan Act • NCDA Update, American Rescue Plan Act, Housing Assistance • Governor Executive Orders • State Expenditures of COVID Relief • State Legislative Update • AZ Department of Health Services COVID-19 Update • Renewable Energy Letter to Corporation Commission Please let me know if there are follow-up questions for Tempe’s federal lobbyist. Also, please let me know if Tempe staff members are pursuing federal grants so we can arrange for letters of support from our Congressional delegation. American Rescue Plan Act Delegation Letters Mayor Woods sent letters to Tempe’s federal delegation regarding support for the federal relief package that is continuing through Congress. The letter to U.S. Representative Stanton thanks him for voting yes on the legislation. The bill has passed out of the House and is now being considered by the Senate. The letters to U.S. Senators Sinema and Kelly outline the need for the legislation and urge support. The letters are attached. Federal Updates: Relief Package, Election, Policing, Earmarks, Communications, Climate Via Ballard Spahr, from CA State Assn of Counties, 3/4/21 Senate Set to Begin Consideration of $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package The Senate is expected to begin debate today on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. No Republican has indicated support for the legislation, so Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote from their caucus for the bill to pass. In a move to solidify the support of moderate Democrats and to address some of their concerns, several notable concessions were made to the House-passed version of the rescue plan (HR 1319). For starters, a proposed minimum wage increase was stripped from the bill after the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that it did not qualify for the fast-track budget rules. A select group of Democrats also convinced party leaders to impose stricter income limits on who can receive the proposed $1,400 stimulus checks. Individuals earning over $80,000 now would not qualify for the direct payments, compared with a $100,000 cap in the House-passed legislation. The ceiling for couples will now be $160,000, down from the initial cap of $200,000. The Senate version of the legislation also would make several notable changes to provisions of the House- passed Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, including reducing the overall amount of federal fiscal aid to local governments. Under the Senate bill, counties and cities would split $120.2 billion, or $10 billion less than the amount approved by the House. The funding would remain available through December 31, 2024, and could be used to cover costs incurred for the following purposes: • to respond to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits or to aid impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality; • for the provision of government services to the extent there was a reduction in revenue due to the health emergency; and, • to make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure. Under the Senate bill, funding would be broken into two equal tranches, with the first installment allocated within 60 days of the bill’s passage. The second tranche of funding would be allocated one year later. It should be noted that the $10 billion cut from the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund would be set aside for a new Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund to carry out capital projects “directly enabling work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the public health emergency.” While states, territories, and tribal governments would be eligible for the new program, the funding would not be available to counties and cities. Once the legislation is ready for consideration, Senate rules provide for 20 hours of debate, equally divided between the two parties. The process could stretch on even longer as Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is expected to demand that the legislation be read in its entirety. While lawmakers from both parties will be permitted to introduce amendments to the measure, Democrats have been instructed by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D- NY) not to seek any substantive changes to the bill. However, this will not prevent GOP lawmakers from forcing politically difficult votes. Following this so-called Vote-a-Rama – in which there’s no numerical limit to how many amendments can receive a floor vote – the chamber will vote on final passage, which will only require a simple majority. If and when the legislation is approved, it will be sent back to the House for a final vote. For their part, Democrats are still on pace to have the legislation on the president’s desk prior to March 14, when existing supplemental unemployment aid expires. House Advances Sweeping Election/Policing Reform Legislation With the Senate focused on the COVID-19 relief measure, the House turned its attention to other Democratic priorities. On Wednesday, lawmakers voted along party lines to approve legislation – For the People Act of 2021 (HR 1) – that would make sweeping changes to the nation’s campaign finance, voting rights, and government ethics laws. Among other things, HR 1 would establish automatic voter registration nationwide, require paper ballots in all jurisdictions, create an optional public financing system to pay for congressional campaigns, tighten disclosure rules for political groups and super PACs, restructure the Federal Election Commission, require early voting and expand voting by mail, and support nonpartisan redistricting efforts. House Democrats also advanced policing reform legislation (HR 1280) designed to prevent the excessive use of force by police officers. The legislation, entitled the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants in drug cases. Additionally, the bill would change “qualified immunity,” which, pursuant to current doctrine, shields law enforcement officers from being held personally liable for constitutional violations as long as an officer does not willfully violate “clearly established” laws. Under HR 1280, a litigant could receive damages in civil court if it is determined that a police officer violated the individual’s constitutional rights with knowing or reckless disregard. There are a number of other reforms in the measure that would impact local law enforcement agencies, including provisions that would require local governing bodies to make a series of certifications and meet specified requirements in order to remain eligible for certain federal grant programs, namely Byrne-JAG and COPS hiring grants. The measure would also eliminate the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement. Both of the aforementioned bills were approved by the House in the previous Congress but stalled in the Senate. In the absence of a bipartisan, bicameral compromise, it appears likely that neither measure will advance in the upper chamber, where 60 votes are required for passage under traditional rules. Congress Set to Bring Back Earmarks In a long-anticipated move, House Democrats recently announced that the Appropriations Committee will be accepting Member requests for earmarked projects.