Incoming Glendale councilman Ray Malnar to tackle casino, Coyotes, light rail

Paul Giblin | The Republic | azcentral.com

Longtime Glendale resident Ray Malnar said he has some studying to do before he joins the City Council.

Glendale officials previously believed Malnar could be sworn in on Dec. 8, but further research indicated that a member elected by recall should be sworn in as early as possible, which would be Tuesday, said City Clerk Pam Hanna.

Malnar toppled first-term member Gary Sherwood in a recall election Tuesday, 53 percent to 47 percent. Maricopa County elections officials expect to certify the vote count late Friday.

Malnar, a small-business owner, said he wants to speak with voters in the city’s Sahuaro District before he joins the seven-member Council. The district generally is bounded by Cactus Road, Union Hills Drive and 67th and 51st avenues.

Malnar’s top priority, he said, is to serve as a voice for residents in the area. “I am there to represent the people and to represent the people to the best of my ability.”

Openness, honesty and debate are among his guiding principles, he said.

He expects to tackle some of the city’s high-profile issues, but he doesn’t have a slate of new issues to add to the mix.

“I don’t have, per se, an agenda. My goal is to be a very thorough, analytical councilman that’s going to look at everything that comes across my desk,” he said.

He plans to focus on the city’s finances. City officials may need to improve economic development efforts, he said.

“I know we have an Economic Development Department. Are they doing everything that can be done? Well, they may be, they may not be. Those are the kinds of things I’m most interested in,” he said.

Billboards

Malnar is opposed to allowing new electronic billboards along Loop 101 in the northern portion of the city, because billboards would clutter views in the area.

The Council already rejected a proposal to allow 85-foot-tall illuminated signs northwest of 101 and Bell Road, but Malnar said he fears the measure may resurface.

Residents in the area strongly oppose the idea because the signs are visible from people’s backyards. “Government must pay attention to their constituents. That’s my philosophy on it,” he said.

The potential revenue from signs wouldn’t be enough to sway him, he said. Malnar said if constituents want it he would consider a compromise proposal, such as turning off the signs during evening hours, but neither side has brought forward a compromise, he said.

Malnar has a different view of existing billboards near the Westgate Entertainment District in the southern portion of the city. “That’s already a done deal, so there’s not a whole lot of discussion on that,” he said.

Casino

Malnar said he personally opposes gambling, but the debate concerning whether the Tohono O’odham Nation should be permitted to build a casino on tribal land near Westgate is over.

The tribe won numerous legal battles to defend its position and Glendale leaders previously dropped formal opposition to the casino. Sherwood helped negotiate a settlement that called for the Tohono O’odham to pay Glendale $25 million over 20 years.

“Our debate now is: What do we do with what we have or with what we get?” Malnar said.

He plans to seek ways to maximize revenue-generating opportunities for the city as a result of its relationship with the tribe. “That will be my role, to make sure, whatever deal we put together with them is beneficial to the city, beneficial to them and beneficial to the taxpayers,” he said.

The casino is expected to open next month.

Coyotes

The councilman-elect said he hopes the Arizona Coyotes hockey team stays in the city-owned arena for the long term, but he is unwilling to approve “major subsidies” for the NHL team as an incentive.

Sherwood championed an agreement in 2013 to pay the Coyotes $15 million a year for 15 years to manage Gila River Arena.

Glendale cancelled the deal this year and the sides agreed to a new two-year package that pays the team $6.5 million this year. Since then, the city requested a proposal for a new management company to run the arena as soon as next year.

On Tuesday, the day of the recall, the Coyotes announced that it hired Mitchell Ziets, CEO of Tipping Points Sports, an advisory firm based in Cherry Hill, N.J., to serve as an arena consultant.

Coyotes executives did not make themselves available Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the matter in greater detail.

Any discussion about future agreements with the team would have to include consideration of the team’s contributions to the city, Malnar said.

“I would be very much in favor of helping them where we can in reduced fees or revenue generation, if they generate more than that in revenue for the city base. We have to look at the whole picture,” he said.

The particular dollar amount of “major subsides” would be dependent upon the details of any proposed deal, Malnar said.

“If they don’t generate us any income, we should not provide anything back,” he said. “My position is they should generate revenue for the city.”

Light rail

Malnar said his read among Sahuaro District residents is that they’re split regarding a proposed extension of the light-rail system into Glendale.

“I think it leans more towards, ‘What benefit is it to us? We’re in the north part of the Valley,’” he said.

The Council is expected to decide early next year whether to use buses or light rail to upgrade mass transit. The Council also is expected to select a route to connect existing legs of the system in Phoenix to downtown Glendale.

Most proposals include at least a portion of the route following Glendale Avenue through the historic downtown area to the municipal government center at the intersection of Glendale, 59th and Grand avenues. Some proposals would run past Grand Canyon University farther south along Camelback Road.

Routing the line along Glendale Avenue would be impractical because the roadway is too narrow, he said. “You can’t do it without destroying everything that’s there and disrupting it for a period of two or three years,” he said.

Glendale Vice Mayor Ian Hugh said he expects Malnar will work well with the other six Council members.

Hugh noted that Malnar previously served as Republican Party committee chairman of state Legislative District 20, so he understands the political process.

“He’s been involved in the community. He’s very active in his church. He’s active in youth groups. He just has the ability to work with a variety of people,” Hugh said.