Gilbert City Council Meeting
April 19, 2004

Transcription and audio file of six-minute discussion about the Dr. Kersting’s
desire to build a clinic in a residential area.

Visitors will need RealAudio software to listen to the audio file of the council discussion. The free RealAudio version should be sufficient.

TRANSCRIPTION
audio file

Mayor: One of our businesses in town was brought up last time is having problems with the changes that are being done there, local vet, and she’s decided she’s going to need to move.

(Someone at the council table whistles a “whew” whistle.)

Mayor: Yup, and she truly wants to stay in Gilbert, but the options are not great for her. She has asked Gene Upstill what he would be willing to sell her, and the piece of property that he is willing to sell her is the big white house, they call it the Wirth house on First Street. You know, the great big one across from the apartments.

Allen: (Says something briefly, nearly indiscernible, and overlapping Yvonne’s voice in which he acknowledges something to the effect that he is familiar with the area of the apartments.)

Mayor: The piece of property he is offering her is just north of that. So it would be R1 as it stands right now. We would have to change the zoning on it. (Pause). But she really would like to stay in town, if we can figure out a way that she can. And that’s the only option she has right now.

Allen: So you’re saying that zoning change alone would make the difference for her? Or is that just one of several things she is thinking about?

Mayor: I think that’s the only option that she is considering. She just wanted to know—get a feel if she should go ahead and start pursuing it or not—how we would feel about it.

Allen: And the reason [is that the present site is] too small for her or too constrained?

Mayor: It’s too, and she doesn’t have any place for her to walk her dogs.

Allen: Outside.

Mayor: Yeah. They’re right now going to the property behind her, stay as far to the right of the watertower, so that when it poops back there, and they pick up after it, as I understand it, and I haven’t had any problems with that. But when your dog is just coming off of anesthesia, that could be a little far to walk.

Two council members: Yeah. Ah-huh. (Affirming what the mayor had just said.)

Mayor: And so she’s (indiscernible end to the sentence). She wasn’t aware that the property was for sale, or she probably would have bought it, but somebody has bought it.

(Pause.)

Helen Gunderson: Do you have any idea what she envisions out there—a little office park, or a little parking lot, or people parking on the street.

Mayor: I don’t think conceptually that she’s gotten that far. She did say that she is willing to do whatever it takes. She’ll put up a big wood fence, if we want. Or whatever it takes. Because she would like to stay in town. She’ll work with us (indiscernible words). But she doesn’t know whether to go ahead and pursue it, because right now—she can’t.

Allen: She’s waiting to hear some statement from us?

Henn: Um-hum. (Affirming what Allen said.)

Mayor: [Or a sense] how we feel about this.

Bob: I guess my suggestion would be to give it to P and Z and get the process started

Allen: Yeah. (Affirming what Jaquis said.) You’re hearing favorable comments.

Jaquis: She’ll have to submit paperwork and things like that. But, we’ll. There will have to be a hearing and so there’ll be some.

Mayor: She’s going to have to hire an architect and

Jaquis: But I mean for the zoning changes.

Mayor: Yeah. Yeah. (Affirming what Jaquis said.) But before she puts the money into an architect, she wants to make sure we are amiable to her

Jaquis: That’s right. That’s what I am saying. She may. John (Lloyd, the city manager) can help her look at the code and see what all is necessary, and she can start that process.

Allen: (Indiscernible, brief remark affirming what Jaquis said.)

Jaquis: Because there may be 30 days or maybe 60 days to get through that process, so.

Allen: You’re a lot closer to the high school. I’m trying to think (hard to the discern words, sounding like he is asking what kind of pranks the students could do to the dogs).

Jaquis: They’re far enough away, I don’t think that’s

Jon: I don’t think you’re going to have that big of a problem.

Jaquis: There’s that waterway that runs between there, and it’s the bus, don’t they park the [school] buses

John Lloyd: The [bus] barn.

(A few indiscernible words by the mayor and council members talking at the same time.)

Mayor: You have the apartments—the apartments and the big white house. (Pause) That’s it. It would be in the middle of residential, especially if we start developing up there, which we wanted to do. (Pause) Well, it’s not an industrial kind of business or anything, I don’t see (indiscernible words).

Allen: (Asks the following leading question in style almost like a person asking the question, “Is the Pope Catholic?) Do people have pets in their homes? (Pause) There you have it.

Mayor and Allen: (A few nearly indiscernible words about the neighborhood. It sounded as though Yvonne said, “Oh yeah” as if Craig’s rationale were sound. Then it sounded like Craig said something to the effect, “So it’s done.”)

Henn: I hate to see the community lose business. You know. We still have to try to get some, so.

Mayor: Exactly. And with her leaving, one new business might come in there, so we might actually gain

Henn: We can gain a business.

Allen: That’s right.

Popp or Jaquis: (says “Um-huh” affirming what the others have said.)

Mayor: But if—I don’t know what you were going to say, but um, she is willing to put a fence if there is bad noise (indiscernible word) or whatever.

Helen Gunderson: I mean, I just notice sometimes like on Main Street how much—how often, you know, when there are cars parked out here, there are cars that have come for the Companion Clinic, and when you think of the corner there where Dunn Street and Second Street intersect, how would you—how would you—go in there and just, you know. I guess it would be interesting to see how that fits in with the comprehensive plan. (Pause) What the feel is that you want for that neighborhood and what the traffic patterns would be.

Mayor: We did make it mixed density—um. What was the word? (Long pause.) Planned develop, mixed density, so there will be different kinds of units, probably, in that area.

(Pause)

Allen: Well, and I think we can refer to the comprehensive plan—that’s a guide—that’s to kind of

Henn: Um-huh. (Affirming Craig’s line of thought.)

Allen: (continues his sentence) suggest to us what we might consider. It’s certainly not an iron-clad, legal bind that we have to follow. That’s mostly to get us (indiscernible words). So if it would be a good idea to move out there. (Pause, then nearly indiscernible words something to the effect that it would be a good idea to move out there.)

Jon: Well, that’s not the only option. There might be some other possibilities if a little more investigation goes into (pause then indiscernible phrase) that she wants to be in a different location. There might be some other options.

Allen: I think we would like to keep her in Gilbert if we could. You’ve got an empty building next door. Who knows what’s going to come in anyway, but still—at least, she’s been a part of Gilbert for quite awhile.

Mayor: Um-huh. (Affirming what Allen said. Then a soft “OK” following by an emphatic “OK” as in “let’s conclude this agenda item and move on to the next one”).