City Council - Regular Meeting

Being with the invocation led by Pastor Rick Wiles, First Southern Baptist Church, and then afterwards the pledge led by Councilmember Hustis.

Would you join me please in our Pledge of Allegiance?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, thank you very much. Can we have the roll call please?

Here. Present.

Present. Thank you very much. Item number two is comments from the public. Members of the audience may comment on any non-agenda items of interest. I do have a speaker request for item 5B, but this would just be the general public comment. Do we have any speaker request cards for that? Okay. Thank you. Item number three, awards, presentations, and proclamations. 3A, the Buckeye Youth Council will provide a summary of their trip to Washington, D.C. for the National League of Cities Conference. You can come on forward.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. It's a pleasure to be here with you all today. My name is Elena Erickson. I'm Natalie Engelman. Hello, my name is Ivy Brown and I'm a four-year member of the Buckeye Youth Council.

I love having the opportunity to network with other city councils from across the country to bring back valuable information to ours. It was also amazing to see monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial, which are such important landmarks to our country. I really learned on this trip how valuable it is to be welcoming to every encounter you have because you never know what that interaction can do to benefit yourself and others. The entire experience allowed me to feel much more civically engaged and able to respect our country's history. With this trip, I was able to become a much more invested leader who will be more open to new experiences and perspectives. This trip to DC is so important for Buckeye's future leaders because it allows people to break out of their shell and learn more about our government.

Hi, my name is Alexa. I'm a senior, a first year member, and the secretary of the Buckeye Youth Council. I had the privilege of representing our community attending the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, DC. Before this experience, Washington, DC was something I had only seen in textbooks. Being there in person made it feel real in a completely different way. We visited places such as the US Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, White House, and the Washington Monument. Being in those spaces, gave me a real sense of how civic leadership happens in practice through everyday discussions and the people who work to represent their communities. One of the most powerful moments for me was visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum. The atmosphere inside was very quiet and reflective and everyone moved it through it with a sense of respect. Seeing a room filled with shoes from victims of the Holocaust was especially impactful. It was a reminder of real human lives behind history and solidifying my values of empathy and humanity. At the conference, we participated in civic engagement activities with students across the country. It showed me that change doesn't happen all at once. It takes patience, listening, and being open to other perspectives. An idea becomes stronger when it's shaped through collaboration and shared understanding. Some of the most meaningful parts of the trip happened outside the sessions, during conversations with other group members, Hearing how they serve and advocate for their own communities made me reflect on our work here in Buckeye, the importance of youth voices in local government and civic life. This experience also helped me better understand political efficacy, the idea that our voices can matter and create change. I want to sincerely thank the Mayor and City Council for supporting opportunities like this and for investing in programs such as the Buckeye Youth Council. Experiences like this help students grow into more engaged, thoughtful civic leaders. I'm grateful for the opportunity to represent Buckeye and I look forward to continuing to grow and stay involved in our community.

Hello, my name is Skylee Groseth and I got the privilege of getting to go to DC on the funded trip as a part of BYC. I am the co-chair of the club and I am a junior in high school. My favorite part was how educational the trip was and how I got to talk with and network with other kids and other youth-led organizations. It was very interesting to hear their ideas and be able to take that back. Very educational for me to bring that back home here to BYC and even to my everyday life. Another part that I thought was really cool was just all the museums. I learned a lot of stuff that I'd only seen in textbooks, like the monuments and the museums. And we got to spend hours just reading and learning about civic engagement or American history and learning about all this stuff in the past and being able to reflect on it to know that we as future leaders can't let it happen again in the future, right? And so that was very interesting. And overall, I just thought it was an amazing educational experience where I got to talk to people and network and learn stuff and

just even get to know the other members of byc better because we got to spend so much time together we got to discuss ideas together it was just very beneficial okay thank you hey y'all my name is lena erickson and this is my first year on the buckeye youth council i had an amazing time in dc meeting folks from other councils seeing the sites and learning more about our nation's vibrant history While we were in DC, a monument that really stood out to me was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was incredibly powerful to see the story of thousands of sacrifices displayed in such a tangible way. It really gave me a better understanding of the meaning of service. Combining the lesson from the various monuments, museums, and conference sessions that we had the opportunity to experience, alongside what I learned from other BYC members, our trip to DC gave me a better understanding of where our nation comes from, where we are now, and the opportunities that lie ahead if we embrace diverse ideas and perspectives as leaders. I am so grateful that I had this opportunity, and I can't wait to apply what I learned back home here in Buckeye. This trip to DC is so important for Buckeye's future leaders because it is an unmatched opportunity to gain exposure to the civic and leadership skills that built our nation while being in the heart of it, surrounded by them.

Hello, my name is Thomas and I am here to present my Washington DC experience and what I learned from it and what I'm bringing home to Buckeye. Firstly, I thought the monuments such as the architecture in the Smithsonian's and public malls was gorgeous and it was very intricate and developed and how to save the public the public infrastructure in DC was significantly more developed than it is here and how they have such a big metro system and how well maintained it is for how large it is. As for the landmarks in particular, I saw the Library of Congress and that was my number one pick and my overall favorite because of the mosaics. They used a lot of colors to illustrate harmony and this sense of unity that's just presented in all of them how it almost comes off as regal in a way how they present them which i thought was very interesting And at the NLC in particular, it meant to me a lot to see how these incentive structures function in our political system and how small choices in a room or a board is just looking at a group, a very small group compared to who they're actually governing. and how their small choices create these huge cascading effects over and over that just eventually compile into things that they can't control anymore and how the average citizen can't really engage with that and how they're disconnected from the people they choose to lead them As for personal leadership in the future, I think teaching people to be articulate and voluntarily organized is a huge centerpiece for me now. And as for experiences that are crucial to the byc i think this is definitely one of them i think seeing the juxtaposition between dc and how it operates and how other cities operate and how those people think and how all those other areas have different strategies to overcome different problems that when Buckeye industrializes could be very important to us and could be very impactful for our own future and encouraging and educating our youth on how that works and them getting firsthand experience with that, I think is very important and worth funding 100%.

Hello, my name is Natalie Ang. I'm a four-year member of BYC. This March, I had the opportunity to go with my council to Washington, D.C. This really was an amazing experience where I learned various aspects of our nation's history and how to better advocate for everyone in my city. We visited many important spaces to our nation, such as the Capitol, where we were able to meet Senator Mark Kelly and talk to him about what we want to advocate for. The monuments and museums were amazing. Visiting the African American Museum really taught me how important their history and culture is to the nation. From the conference, an interesting point I learned was that with policy changes, there's always going to be a party affected. And more often than not, they're overlooked. So when discussing and writing proposals, it is important we look at the entire scope of the effects. Moving forward, when advocating for change, I want to make sure everyone considers this. This trip reminded me of how much everyone's voice matters, and with combined efforts and consideration, truly helpful changes will be made. I would like to thank the Mayor of Buckeye and our City Council for their long-time support of the Buckeye Youth Council. The experience, lessons, and memories made in programs like these are crucial for future leaders.

Hi, my name is Anecia Jones. I'm a senior at Verrado High School and this is my first year in Buckeye Youth Council. This trip was enlightening for me because it helped me learn a lot of stuff that I didn't know. I made a bunch of memories and I brought back home life lessons that I'll never forget. My favorite memorial in DC was the Lincoln Memorial. It engraved a belief in how much change one with a dream and determination can make. While at this conference, it was an eye-opening experience gathering with like-minded peers who shared the same passions and aspiring dreams. A lesson I learned is to take any opportunity or chance to speak in what you believe in. This experience meant a lot because it made me closer to the other youth council members on a more casual level. Being in such a historic city with my friends is a memory I won't forget. This trip has improved my leadership skills, such as taking charge in the necessary situations like traveling on the metro or gathering the food order to make the order on the server easier. This is an inspirational trip that every Youth Council member should participate in, and the top reasons why are experimenting in being an extrovert, learning the in-depth history about our country, and the most important, making lasting friendships. Thank you.

for having us today do you guys have any questions of our trip any any questions from council no questions well we appreciate your continued support for the buckeye youth council and our youth forces of our wonderful city as a whole thank you thank you i think a round of applause at this point so awesome video thank you for coming and doing the presentation and i also want to call out uh janine van luyn and Christine Grundy. I know how difficult it is to go to D.C. where we go as a council to that same, the National League of Cities, and it's like herding cats with adults. So I can't imagine doing that with teenagers, although they're probably way more well-behaved than council members. yes so thank you for for all you're doing with the youth and uh and then thank you all for taking time to do this this is uh not just the presentation but being a part of the buckeye youth council learning everything that you're learning about municipal government and a trip like that is incredible to really expand your horizons on um how big all of this is how much government there is uh and the opportunities for you in the future so thank you appreciate y'all

Thank you.

Okay, item number four is the consent agenda items. Approval of items on the consent agenda, all items on an asterisk are considered to be routine matters and be enacted by one motion and vote of the City Council. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a council member requests. This section may include the approval of minutes from previous meetings. Council, for the consent agenda, what is your pleasure?

Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve consent agenda items 4A as in Adam through 4J as in John.

I'll second. I have a motion for approval and a second on the consent agenda items. All in favor say aye. Aye. And opposed? Consent agenda passes unanimous. Item 5A, council to take action on resolution number 51-26, approve in adopting the tentative budget for fiscal year 2027. Keith, did you get your voice back?

Good evening, Mayor.

Just in time. Good.

Vice Mayor, Council. Yes, I did get my voice back. Thank you. So this is a follow up to the meeting we had a couple of weeks ago where I did not have a voice, where we talked about the city manager recommended budget. This is the tentative budget. which is similar except it includes the carryover amounts. So this, the tentative budget sets the maximum expenditure limit. This is by state statute. It cannot be increased after this, but it could be decreased. And the primary difference, as I mentioned, is the tentative budget includes carryovers, which are amounts budgeted this fiscal year that are not expected to be completed this fiscal year and may run into next fiscal year. So overall, as mentioned a couple weeks ago at the workshop, the city manager recommended budget is $501.7 million. The additional carryover amount is $263.2 million, and I'll talk briefly about those in a moment. Some other changes, the north library, city council moved up about .8 million dollars from fiscal year 27 into fiscal year 26, so this just reflects that that is a change that happened, that council took action. Some other miscellaneous adjustments for non-general fund, this includes $300,000 for a fire grant, some other miscellaneous adjustments. and then the following three are no dollar amounts are associated with them it's just how they are represented in the city manager recommended budget we had some expenditures represented excuse me coming right out of the general fund the tentative budget has those monies transferred to other funds and then the expenditures being spent out of those other funds so for example we have a capital fund or asset replacement fund so instead of being spent right out of the general fund he gets transferred to those other funds and then spent out of there We also had, we found an error that $4 million in one time cost associated with the new employees was put as payroll expenses and it should have been operating. We moved that to the operating from payroll, but that was reflected in the workshop in that category. But no overall fund or money change. And finally, we recently created a new fund for Prop 207 money. This is revenue associated with marijuana. And in the past, this revenue went directly into the general fund and was spent out of the general fund. To increase transparency, we have created this other fund. So the revenue will go in there and be spent out of that fund. Again, there's no net increase. It is just increasing transparency. So the overall tentative budget is $765.4 million. The carryover summary, that includes primarily the capital improvement plan, so projects that were budgeted in fiscal year 26. Some was budgeted in 25, carried over in 26, and we're planning on completing those projects that we'll carry over into fiscal year 27. We also have some development agreement reimbursements that were budgeted in fiscal year 26 that as the developers complete or qualify for those reimbursements, we would pay those. And then finally, there's other projects or equipment where assets or projects are started and budgeted in fiscal year 26 that would continue and be completed in fiscal year 27. So additional actions that need to take place is tonight hopefully the adoption of the tentative budget and then on June 2nd there will be a hearing for truth and taxation and the adoption of the final budget and then on June 16th is the adoption of the property tax levy and that would make it so we would have a budget. And so staff recommends approving resolution 51-26 which is approving the tentative budget the amount of seven hundred sixty five million four hundred thirty six thousand two hundred dollars for comparison last year's tentative budget was eight hundred nineteen million dollars so we're about fifty million dollars less and the carryover last year is very much in line with what it is this year last year we carried over two hundred and fifty six point five million this year we're carrying over two hundred sixty three point two million so very much in line and with that i'm available for any questions okay thank you just a quick one off the top the difference between last year's budget and this year's budget is that generally the water purchase from park wahala so mayor the main difference overall is the capital improvement plan for fiscal year 26 was about 150 million dollars for fiscal year 27 new projects is 75 million So it is the decrease in new projects within the capital improvement plan. Okay.

Okay. And one other quick question for me before we go to council questions. The census update, I think we're expecting to see an increase in revenues. That's not reflected in this, is it?

Mayor, that is not reflected right now. As mentioned in the city manager recommended budget, we do have some revenue contingent expenditures that are in this. So if revenues do, if we're still researching to find out exactly when additional revenue and how much would come in that may impact being able to trigger those additional expenditures for those 14 positions okay okay and then for the public's benefit this is we're talking

real going through a real quick presentation here on a 765 million dollar budget but there have been many meetings leading up to this where we've had discussion about a workshop and and this has gone back and forth over the last couple months so I'm sure you could unpack more but we've heard it on our side and this is that final meeting to set that upper threshold of our spending limit for the city of Buckeye.

Correct, Mayor. Typically, we just go over any changes that have occurred since the previous discussion.

Okay, great. All right, council questions? Vice Mayor.

Yeah, Keith. Congratulations on getting your voice back. Thank you. Jared didn't have to pinch it for you again. Just a quick question. Do we have, well, And our population, new population estimate is about 120,000, correct? Up from, what was the number before?

114. So the change is about a 5,000 increase.

And how much, in an estimate, on how much additional revenue that that would bring in?

Mayor Osborne, Vice Mayor Goodman. The estimate that I've seen is around $2 million.

Okay, thank you.

And just a clarification, that population estimate is as of two years ago, is that correct? So we're expecting, Dave, tell me what our estimate is for right now.

We're still working on updating our numbers, but we think we're probably in the lower 130s today.

Okay, okay, great, thank you. Any other questions from Council? Okay, seeing none, Item 5A, Council, what's your pleasure?

Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion that we approve agenda item 5A as in Adam.

Second. I have a motion for approval of 5A and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? 5A passes unanimous. 5B, council take action on ordinance number 15-26 declaring as public records those documents on file with the city clerk. And I won't go through all of this. I think we're gonna get a presentation and then a little bit of discussion on this. I've got speaker request cards. And I think there might be a plan for Vice Mayor

be continued this conversation on but let's go ahead and get the presentation yes sir that's that's even better good evening mayor council members I'm Bob Sanders your police chief I'm here tonight to discuss city ordinance 15-26 in regards to e-bikes e-scooters and electric motorcycles it's great opportunity to continue our discussion and hopefully we had several members of the community show up pro and con and give us their opinions and how this affects them and their perspectives and also i i have to uh you know i missed an opportunity to discuss this matter with our local bike store owner hopefully he or one of his representatives showed up tonight to offer their perspective too so we can incorporate because good public policy is based upon community input And so we can only get what we need for our community by more people talking to us and sharing their experiences. All right, so I'll continue here. The purpose of our ordinance is, number one, it's safety and awareness. We're not here to over-regulate the use of e-bikes or e-scooters or even micro-devices. But we do want to reduce reckless or careless behavior, and we specifically really want to reduce injuries to those under 16. Number two, we want to provide public education and a positive reinforcement. One of our officers suggested when we see kids riding right, their parents with them, providing that supervision that maybe they give away coupons for an ice cream cone. So we want to make sure we have that public awareness, public campaigns, and we want to make sure the retailers and the parents are one of our partners for the education component. And finally, there has to be a comprehensive enforcement tool that is fair and effective. We do not want to issue citations to kids. We do not want to issue citations to parents. What we want to do is reduce injuries in emergency room visits. So we have two city ordinances tonight before us. One is for operators. You'll see a little later who that affects. And then number two is for retailers to provide some type of public information, either a pamphlet, a QR code, and you'll see something like this at the end of the slide. These will either be provided by the Buckeye Police Department or the retailer can provide their own. So what are we not regulating? Regular bicycles, any device that travels under 10 miles an hour, a self-propelled scooter, responsible behavior, and the off-road. We also don't regulate private property. So for the audience and those online, e-bike classes. There's three e-bike classes. There's class one, class two, and class three. As you can see there, they all have pedals. The difference is the Class 2, you can use the throttle or you can use the pedal, either or, or both. And then the Class 3 can travel up to 28 miles per hour. Injury statistics locally and nationally. As you can see, the statistics for Buckeye, it's a little difficult to read there, but you can see we're already on pace to match and exceed last year's injuries, incidents to our kids. Most of these are kids. As I spot checked some of these incidents, I spot checked about 12, 15 of them, they all involved kids who were not being supervised by their parents. National statistics, it's common knowledge, there's an increase in e-bike and e-scooter injuries, pediatric injuries have tripled, and Arizona e-scooter injuries have doubled since 2024. This is a slide here just to show you the difference between a year to year. The 2025 statistics are still not in place, but those are emergency room visits, and the number one injury is to the head of a child, and then the face, and then the knee. So how do we develop our ordinance? Actually, it began with the Buckeye Youth Council, some of those members there, a couple different ones, and wanted to get their intake, their input. What's it like to ride an e-bike? And it was a great conversation because at that time, about a year, year and a half ago, I personally didn't believe law enforcement was the solution. Law enforcement riding tickets was the solution to our e-bike community issues or concerns. it's changed a lot in the last year and a half a lot more citizen complaints have come in there's several more injuries and you can see from our statistics we expect an increase in injuries and incidents we had community group meetings we had meetings all over the community we had meetings with special interest groups chambers make sure we had the discussion we also had a community survey in february there's 364 people responded we utilized our social media channels city representatives people behind me our judges our judge our prosecutor community services our officers who see the day-to-day our dispatchers who receive the calls and into a certain extent to a certain degree the fire department who respond to the injuries we also conducted a lot of research pros and cons What we found was a lot of cities were early adopters of e-bike, e-scooter ordinances. They were very vague. They just wanted something on the book. They really didn't affect the outcome. They did not change behavior. Injuries continued to increase. And then we also see, and really now lately, we see some cities, I'll call it over-regulating to the point to where a state just passed a state law where required if you're 15 or over, you either had to have a driver's license or an e-bike license to operate any of the e-bikes, any of the classes. We had our city council workshop last week which continued our dialogue and our public discussion. Tonight's the ordinance adoption and then finally it'll be the implementation plan once we decide what we're going to do with our public policy. survey results with strong support for mandatory helmets for kids under 18 majority supported 16 under 16 for operating e-bikes and e-scooters that travel over 10 miles per hour preference for controlled sidewalk use with pedestrian priority that was a little closer as far as probably was about 55 i thought it was okay for sidewalks to be utilized Bike lanes preferred when available for e-bike operation. And of course, everyone agreed, education first, targeted enforcement second. So what are we regulating? What are we proposing? E-bikes, e-scooters, and micro devices that travel over 10 miles per hour. Our city ordinance regulations are for e-bikes, the stand-up scooters, devices that travel over 10 miles per hour, devices that exceed 28 miles per hour. And we'll talk about it a little later because that's something unique to our city ordinance that we thought was correct for our community. E-motorcycles, which has increased in concern over the last four or five months. And then, of course, reckless or careless behavior, especially unsupervised behavior of children under 16. So our approach is education first, enforcement second. Phase one is community awareness, social media, schools, and retailer. We also want to make sure we reach out to our parents and provide education. In discussion with some of our parents, it's quite obvious that I'm not sure they quite understand what they're giving their child. You can go to any military school, any middle school, And what you'll see is, you'll see an e-bike, a Class 3 e-bike, and then for some reason, a 10-year-old's going to middle school with an adult helmet, motorcycle helmet, which probably doesn't fit. So those are the concerns and the conversations we want to make sure we're having with our parents. Do you quite understand what you just gave your child? Phase two is warning and voluntary compliance. Phase three, of course, starts to get into the targeted enforcement based upon citizen complaints and officer observations. We do not have the staffing to chase down every child riding a scooter and check their age. That's not the purpose of this. The purpose of this is to reduce careless behavior. So in summary, our city ordinance, all operators of e-bikes, scooters, and micro mobility devices that exceed 10 miles per hour. It applies on our streets, sidewalks, parks, and public areas. Parents are responsible for their minor children. No minimum age when parents are present. And of course, retailer partnership required to provide some type of educational safety information. So where can you ride? Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, you can ride on the sidewalk along with e-scooters. Bike lanes when available. And in conversation and cooperation with our community services department, Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are allowed at City of Buckeye Parks along with e-scooters. Where you cannot ride, city of Buckeye municipal buildings and parking lots, private property when posted by the owner, and Class III e-bikes in our city parks or sidewalks. Unless, of course, you're crossing a street using a crosswalk at an intersection. So number one, safety first, always yield to pedestrians, ride at a safe, reasonable speed, helmets required under 18, maintain control and avoid collision, functional brakes, no attaching to motor vehicles, that's catching a ride with a car driving down the street, have one hand on the device at all times, have an audible warning device, lights and reflectors for night riding, and of course, safety first with parental awareness engagement. This e-bikes or e-motorcycles and motor-driven cycles have become a rising concern in our community. These are most of the complaints we've been receiving in the last couple of months. These are actually motorcycles. They just don't have a gas-powered engine. And they're regulated by Title 28. However, Title 28 is a little vague as far as applying it to motorcycles, e-motorcycles. So the penalties are progressive. For electric bicycles, electric standing scooters, and devices, first violation would be a $100 fine. Second violation, we're proposing a $250 fine. Third violation, $500 fine, possibly impound, and then to get your e-bike back, associated impound fees. And then finally, third violation in 12 months could be a Class I misdemeanor. And then for the e-motorcycles, the first violation involving an e-motorcycle may include a fine, device impound, and associated impound fees. The retailer partnership, what we're asking of our retailers is to provide the safety information and city ordinance information, display safety signage in stores, and reinforce the safe riding culture. Our implementation timeline. There's four phases. Education first through our social media, June through August. Community outreach, June through August. A warning period starting August 2026. And then targeted enforcement starting in September 2026. Finally, our outcome, educate riders, educate parents, improve operator behavior, reduce injuries under 16, reduce complaints, and then also retail our partnership. Have fun safely. What you don't see up there is right tickets, all right? That's not our outcome. That's not what we want. In summary, our ordinance, awareness and education, parental engagement, and targeted enforcement that's fair to our public and our community. This is one of the handouts we'll have or a poster. This is also on our website. This summarizes our proposed ordinance. This is a comparison just for education's sake. As you can see, it varies city to city. I predict in the future, well, there already is conversation. There was legislature, a proposed state, and there's also federal to come out and regulate the manufacturers. I'm not sure about the retailers. But there's inconsistencies of how bikes are labeled, and not all bikes are labeled properly. And that's part of the awareness we want to make sure we educate our parents. So finally, I'm here to recommend action, adoption of the city ordinance. But I understand there's several people who would like to talk, and so we may pivot on that. I can hear Mayor Meck in my head. We're the Police Department. We enforce laws that are written by Council and adopted by Council. We work for the community. We work at the pleasure of the Council, so I can just hear Mayor Mack say, what's your pleasure? So with that, I end, and if there's any questions or comments, I can address the citizens.

Okay, thank you, Chief. Do you want to go to... Yeah, let's go through the comments first. So on file, we have from Sherry Castillo, we have an email that she had sent in. I won't read that, but that is part of the minutes. I've got from Bart Balma. I don't see him here, but he has a speaker request card and he is not in support of this item. We'll add that to the record as well. And Corey Raftery. Do you want to speak on this item? OK, come on up.

Hello, good evening, Mayor and council members. Thank you for your continued service. Thank you for taking the time to study and discuss this important topic of e-bikes in our city. My name is Corey Raftery. Do I need to give you my address?

I don't know if we're requiring that anymore or not.

No.

How long it's been since I've done this.

And was there a card filled out with the information unlisted?

No address, but maybe.

No, we're okay. Right on. So I'm here in dual capacity tonight as a resident of the city of Buckeye and also on behalf of the Verrado Community Association. I just want to express support to all of you and to you, Chief, for your willingness to be proactive on this measure, particularly in researching potential ordinances, safety measures, and the thoughtful next steps when it comes to e-bikes. In our community, we've also observed the use of e-bikes on the rise, and we recognize a lot of good that they bring to the community. They help families and friends connect outdoors. In many cases, they stay active. They also contribute to the lifestyle that makes both Verrado and the greater Buckeye area a great place to live. We constantly see our neighbors using them to get to our parks, schools, events, restaurants, and to our shared spaces every single day. At the same time, as we heard from the chief, we understand the challenges that e-bikes could present if not regulated appropriately. So as both use and technology here pedal forward, we wish to underscore the importance of collaboration and safety for our riders, walkers, runners, drivers, really everyone enjoying our trails, streets, and public spaces. And again, we appreciate your willingness to take a balanced approach to this issue. As the conversation continues, we want the city to know that our community stands ready to partner alongside you in whatever direction you decide to take. We'd happy to be part of education campaigns, pilot programs, bike rodeos, creative community outreach, and certainly safety initiatives. Ultimately, we support a collaborative effort that keeps people outside connected and enjoying bikes of all kinds. And we also want to ensure the safety and well-being of really everyone in our community. But thank you again for the opportunity to speak. Thank you for taking on this issue, taking action on this issue that matters to so many of our residents. And we applaud your leadership and we look forward to looking to look forward to working together with you guys in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Corey. OK, next is Patrick.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor, Council. Thank you for the time to speak on this matter. My name is Patrick Aluli. Most people in the neighborhood and community know me as Billy. I am one of the co-owners of Thrive Swim and Ride Shop, which is City of Buckeye's only dedicated bicycle and bike repair retail store. We've been in operation for approximately 18 months now as a brick and mortar facility. We've been a business with City of Buckeye for approximately three years. Partnered with the VCA doing the 4th of July Bike Parade, participating in a number of community events. I'm also the president of a nonprofit organization called Go Thrive. where we contribute a portion of all of our revenue to encouraging people to go out and be active in their communities, whether that be sponsoring sports teams or paying fees or donating bikes at Christmas time to local community charities. Unfortunately, I was thrown into this discussion kind of at the back end. in the entire time that any of these surveys or any of this discussion has been taking place. We've never been brought in in any of these discussions regarding retailer education, regarding additional community participation in terms of education, in terms of Just general bike safety, common hand signals, bike equipment, proper maintenance, none of these things were ever addressed. With us being a local retailer, obviously we felt like we had a lot to contribute to this conversation. There were a number of things that we were concerned about in regards to enforcement in terms of age limits. I feel like there was a, we feel, there was a very broad brush painted across class one, two, and three bikes when manufacturer recommendations have a lot of different that are contributed as in terms of weight, voltage, amperage, top speeds, things like that. There are e-bike classifications that range for children from three years old all the way up until 15. And they don't fall within any of the classifications that have been put forward in any of the ordinance that's been put forth. And a lot of these kids are not using these as a recreational device that is meant to be something that they're going out and causing problems in the community, this is how they get to school. It's how they go to the ice cream store. It's how they go to the grocery store. It's how they go to their friend's house and go meet. It puts them outside, gets them off the couch. When we've been trying so hard as a business and as parents, I'm a father of four in the community, We've been working so hard to get these kids up and off the couch and out into the community. And by regulating children to a device that cannot go over 10 miles an hour simply because it has an electric motor is, in my opinion, in our opinion, very irresponsible. It basically starts to put a regulation on childhood. And I do recognize that there is a problem with some bad actors in the neighborhood. I myself go out and actively try and educate, try and communicate with these young individuals. They come into my store, they meet with my staff, they're friends with my kids. There's a lot more that we can do in terms of education before we move to regulation and enforcement of childhood. Thank you.

Thank you, Patrick. Appreciate your comments. before we go to you, any questions from council members?

I have a question. Can you go back to the slide that showed the other cities that have adopted similar ordinances? Do we have anything on the books for just a helmet requirement for bicycles? Do we actually get involved in that?

No, sir, we don't regulate helmets for bicycles.

So where did the rationale come from to do 18? I mean, I see all the other cities, but there's also Gilbert that kind of sticks out there that just says recommended. What where's the rationale for for that? Is there any statistics we used or just yes, yes, Councilmember Yonker.

There's there's statistics we used common practice. Other cities surveys and some of us comes from the medical journals, specific pediatric journals. That's what the recommendation is for e-bikes. OK. Because they're not considered a regular bicycle, and that's where they come in with the regulations of having make sure they're properly fitted.

I am cautious about trying to regulate something of this nature to make it harder for kids to get out and get out into the world and be a part of a community. I mean, if you compare it to something like from my growing up, I had full reign. from e-bikes obviously weren't a thing but what other things were um and to take that away from somebody um or to make my parents pay for certain things that were that were done like that i just have a hard time regulating kids in that nature so that's all i have to say thank you mr mayor thank you council member vice mayor yeah got the statement again our goal with this is not to outlaw childhood as mr galuli said

or create an onerous set of rules that discourage those outdoor activities that are happening now. We want safe and responsible riders of all ages and abilities. First and foremost, the safety of our community and especially the kids who are participating in droves. I don't think anybody can argue that. And personally, I'm committed to anything that protects riders of all ages and abilities. A very good friend of mine was killed in Goodyear a couple of years ago when a driver pulling a trailer crashed into a group of seasoned riders, killing two and injuring dozens. Second, I was injured a few years ago when a driver drifted into my bike lane along Verado Way and knocked me off my bike. I ended up bumped and bruised, but tore a ligament in my elbow that required surgery. That driver didn't stop, so safety's everything to me. These were seasoned riders doing the right things that were adversely impacted, by behaviors and activities that they were doing. Just imagine if those riders had been less experienced. So biggest part of this is last week I received an email from a constituent about this proposed ordinance. As I pride myself, I drafted and sent a response to this constituent. My response ended up on Facebook. I had written something that I assumed to be true, but learned later that it was not. I was incorrect in my assumption that the owners of the Shire Bike Shop had provided input on our proposed ordinance and they were not given that opportunity. I spoke to one of the owners by phone yesterday and extended my apology and I want to take this opportunity to do so again. So you have my apology, owners of Thrive, as well as anyone else who drew the wrong conclusions based on my note to a constituent. Words matter and words are important. There's a difference between what I know to be true and what I assume to be true. My intent was not to cause harm or disruption or spread misinformation. I wrote what I assumed to be true and it was not. So at the conclusion of my comments, I'm going to move that we table this item to be considered at a future date so we can engage the right stakeholders and create an improved ordinance. One focused on education, training, outreach, responsibility, and most important, safety. Remember, words matter and it's critical that we get the wording right. So Mr. Mayor, I'm moving that we table agenda item 5B, allowing such time as necessary for staff to conduct additional research and solicit the information necessary for the modification as proposed by coordinates and come back to council when that effort is complete.

Second. Okay, I've got a motion and a second for tabling to a date uncertain. All in favor, say aye. Aye. And opposed?

Nay.

Okay, the motion passes, so we'll table that, give you opportunity, Chief, to catch up with some other folks in the community. Thank you, Mayor, appreciate that. All right, thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you for coming in and speaking. Jack Jack, it's good seeing you walk in here.

Thank you.

Okay, item 5C, council take action on the creation of capital improvement program project number 260055, downtown string lights for fiscal year 2026 and authorize a budget transfer from CIP number 107920, downtown enhancement program and general fund contingency to fund the installation of string lighting within the Monroe Avenue corridor. Miss Amy Murray.

Good evening, mayor and council. Thank you for having me tonight. I'm Amy Murray, your public works director here to talk about the creation of a capital improvement project which will allow the installation of string lights on Monroe Avenue. This project is in response to a council retreat item. This project also adheres to the downtown specific area plan, or the DSAP goals, by creating a welcoming atmosphere, enhancing lighting levels, and improving nighttime visibility. This project, again, is specific to Monroe Avenue and is between 3rd and 7th Streets due to power availability. Now this project will require the installation of new infrastructure. It will be a separate standalone system. The existing infrastructure in the area cannot support the lighting system and the existing system also has current uses. Our goal would be to work with an engineering firm to design the system's foundational needs, the location of the poles, the height, and the span wires required to hoist the lighting. This lighting project will adhere to all city standards. If the CIP project is approved tonight, we will return to Council, preferably in or around September, to request the materials purchase and construction later on this coming fiscal year. Now, during this process, it is our goal to also engage with the Main Street Coalition, the Chamber of Commerce, and the downtown businesses in the area. This will involve the work not only of Public Works, but Economic Development and Communications. Now on a good note here, APS, we have met with them, and they have allowed us a variance. Normally they require a 10 foot distance from their lines, but they have allowed us a 3 and 1 half foot variance. So we are planning on pulling power from the signalized intersections, not the street lights that are in place now. Now these lights will be staggered along Monroe, and I will have a conceptual drawing to show you in just a moment. So should a council approve the CIP, this is our anticipated timeline for this project. We will engage with an engineering consulting firm that specializes in commercial corridor lighting to help us design a system that meets city standards. Now because it takes about five plus months to obtain the materials, our goal would be to have this in place and ready to go and materials ordered before the start of event season downtown so that the materials would be in-house by the time event season concludes downtown so we can begin installation. with the goal being to have this project finalized by the end of fiscal year 27. Now here's a conceptual drawing. of this project and our request tonight is to have Council take action to approve the creation of capital improvement project 260055 downtown string lights for fiscal year 2026. This will allow a budget transfer from CIP project 107920 as well as general fund contingency to fund the CIP program. So with that, I'll take any questions.

Okay, council questions. Councilman Hustis.

What's the cost?

$600,000 is our estimated cost for this. Where was it again? I didn't hear. $600,000 is our estimated cost.

This would be for nighttime lighting between 3rd and 7th, is that correct?

That's our anticipated area, correct.

And at this current time, how many restaurants are there that are open after 2 o'clock? I believe there's three.

I believe that number's correct, sir.

So we're putting $600,000 out to put in lighting for three restaurants. And the few people that we have. I'm not against downtown, don't get me wrong. I very much want to see this downtown grow and prosper. But I think by looking at this, I think we're stepping ahead, too far ahead at this point in time. Because we're looking for $600,000 to be spent for the population that comes down here for three restaurants after 2 o'clock in the afternoon. And I don't think there are any other businesses that really stay open that late. We're providing this. My question is, for who? Who is this being provided for? Is it being provided for all the citizens that walk up and down the street here after dark? Are they provided for three restaurants? Are we putting out $600,000 for three restaurants? Or we might be able to instead maybe work on $50,000 for the engineering and the site and set and look at this program and set up a time maybe for the future instead of spending $600,000 now for something that we don't even have down here. I'd love to see a dozen restaurants down here. I'd love to see the lighting when it comes. But I think we might be taking a step too far forward to spend $600,000 for lighting up for three restaurants. And I don't think there are any other businesses open after dark, not that I can think of offhand. And I come down here. I'm down here at the restaurants and everywhere else. And I just really have an objection to that. Plus, another thing that bothers me, we're going to spend this money digging up alongside and putting wiring in and doing all this other stuff, and I believe we're going to have a major project of the entire sewer system going down this street within a year or so. And I just wonder what difficulties that might create for lines and poles that are being put in now before a major construction that will probably shut this whole street down for I don't know how long. And it just doesn't seem to add the numbers up. And let's see, I think I have one other thing. I think that was it with the project. I was just thinking, though, out loud, wouldn't it be nice to do the design first before you bring a $600,000 project to us that we could approve maybe $50,000 to do a project of looking at the design and figuring this out before we spend another $550,000? That's all I've got, Mr. Mayor.

Okay. Thank you, Councilmember. Yeah, I think that Mr. Houston, your numbers are off a little bit by the restaurants. I know you're down here on a regular basis during the day, but in the evening, just from my account sitting here, I think we're, granted it's not that much more, but it's almost just double what you're talking about. So with that said, you know, we are the development community and they ask about wanting to bring people downtown with economic development and the Main Street Coalition as well. And the consensus that we get back on that I've heard from a regular basis is what is the city doing to make this a more attractive area? What are you doing to make it so that people actually want to be down here? And it has been a major upswing here recently in the past probably six to seven months of people coming down here. We have got to do something to make that the attractive piece. We went out and did the GO bond with the idea of being able to help fund these other CIP projects that have been sitting on the sidelines for years at the city because of this, that, or the other thing of importance. And that was really the direction that we talked about in our retreat. We talked about it during the DSAP, development of the DSAP plan. And if we're not gonna do something as simple as a light project, why are we even discussing it at all? And I do understand that we're gonna, the sewer project is gonna go in, but I don't remember exactly what the number was on that sewer project. Brian, do you have a, do you remember what that roughly was being? Sorry to put anybody on the spot. or I think it was 27 million, is that right? That was the grant. Grand total for that. The grant that we had applied for. Okay, so I mean it's just, it's lighting and I know that we look at, how much of that is the poles versus lights themselves?

The poles are the majority of the cost. It's estimated that approximately 500,000 of this is dedicated to the pole system.

Okay, and with that said, these poles that are gonna be put in, could they be designed in a way that could be the future streetlight pole as well? Or will this replace the streetlight itself?

It's possible, but we won't know that detail until we get into design. But it's definitely a request that we could ask the firm to consider.

OK. And the power would be pulled, I think you said, from the signal light? So that would not be any underground requirements if they're going to pull them from the signal light, correct?

No, it would not.

OK. So I guess that we are a little bit of an impasse. What about using the APS light poles? What's the issue there?

Okay, they are not strong enough to support the tension needed for the lighting system and those poles are used throughout the year for other projects such as Christmas lights. So if we were to figure out if we could, if the poles were stable enough to allow the string lights to be attached to them, which they are not.

Was that studied or were we?

That was through a meeting with APS.

It was through a meeting or they know that specifically? They don't have the spec of their own pole that was installed?

They did not share that with me.

Okay.

But they did tell me that. So going with that, those poles do have electrical outlets on them, but we use that during Christmas time, so we could not use that for power and also light up downtown for Christmas.

Okay. That's unfortunate that APS took that position, especially considering we gave them a grant of $327,000 a few years ago to help design their Hub West facility, but I guess that's not that big a deal. So I just think that we have to show the community that we're doing something within this area to make it more attractive, to make it more pencil for the, you see restaurants that are down there that are, that are thriving, you know, heritage just, it just opened up this week for dinner. So that's another one that you probably didn't have on your list. And a couple of taco shops that are there too. And then I just think that we've got to do something to make it, to make it what it should be, or we're going to lose it. So thank you, Mr. Thank you.

Council member. It said, if you want something different, you got to do something you never done. want our downtown to thrive, we've got to think outside the box. Even though it seems expensive, we've got to do something. We narrowed the road, make it more walkable. We want more people to come downtown. And I think lighting would change the atmosphere to make people want to come downtown, people want to shop downtown, more businesses will open. I hear people all the time say, we grew up in Buckeye, and we left, and we came back, and nothing's changed downtown. Everything's still the same. They're not saying that's a good thing. They're saying, how come nothing's changed? So I think with this light, it gives a different, you know, light just brings a different life, you know, to things. So I think lighting will give a different life to the community and to the atmosphere. So I think it's a great thing.

Vice Mayor. Yeah.

I agree with my colleagues to the right. I think it's a good thing. My questions have to do with how, if we do this installation now, how is that going to affect the other projects that we have intended for Monroe? Is this the appropriate time to put this in? Is there a better time given all the road work that we need to do as well as some of the other improvements that we have incorporated in the DSAP?

So the timing of this vice mayor will be outside of other projects that are currently occurring downtown on Monroe to improve the infrastructure there and our goal is to work hand in hand with the CIP office in the PMO office to make sure that we are not in conflict with any of their projects and that the goal of this project would be to enhance. What's there now and what's coming?

So if this is approved tonight and we move forward with the installation of these light poles and then the lights, are we going to have to change the scope of the project to accommodate what we've just installed? whatever the project is, and I'm kinda looking at Brian, hoping he throws me a lifeline. All of the things we have intended for Monroe to improve that from the ground up, is this going to cause that we do one of those future projects in a different way that could be more expensive?

Mayor, Vice Mayor, I think it's more of a question of will this material be able to be reused in the final configuration for Main Street, for Monroe? And the answer is that's the intent with the design scope that we'll be giving the engineering firm and the consulting architect that we've already onboarded for this process that the lights themselves should absolutely be able to be reused. The poles, hopefully they can have another home at the end of the process, but maybe where they're located as far out of the path of the paving reconstruction as possible, they won't need to be removed until the very near end of the project, and then maybe replaced right away. With the first part of the project being the underground storm sewer, working from one end to the other, that may not disrupt the lighting itself, again, for the first few years of the project. A matter of timing and priority is one of the things that we called out in the DSAP process was that we need to catalyze some of this activity downtown. And it won't even just necessarily benefit the businesses, but also the types of evening events we have down there and really create that plaza atmosphere. That's the goal with these lights.

So we install these at some point in the future and we may have to uninstall them in order to do the project and then they get reinstalled right back.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, the intent would be to temporarily uninstall them or store them and get them back up again, yes.

Okay, thank you.

before you walk away, what's the timeline on that underground, what are we looking at for that time period? Remind me.

Yeah, I think that's in one of the out years, and someone with a fresh CIP book may need to remind me, but I think it's in the four to six year timeline before the road undergoes major reconstruction. Riley's standing up.

Come on up, young man.

Probably. Now, let's just get everybody up here.

Let's get the whole band. Rayleigh, how are you this evening, sir?

Great, sir. Great, sir. The construction of the storm sewer is in FY28 and 29. I'd anticipate, in this case, we start downstream and work our way upstream. So, in other words, the second and third phases would be in the Monroe area. So, in the summer of 2028 timeframe is when we would conceptually start the downtown storm drain component. i will say as brian indicated astutely here we are incorporated as part of the downtown utility design concept report the the ultimate layout that's being studied and to reuse the infrastructure that's already in place to the best of our ability i would anticipate that overall to be done until we've done further underground work so we don't have a time frame of that ultimate yet but we are incorporated into the best for our ability to design with the DCR for downtown it's so if we approve this and move forward with this installation it could be a few years before we have to move yes sir okay thank you is that time frame change with

say a $27 million grant from the federal government.

Mayor, I appreciate that question.

I'm looking at the chief.

I think he's wanting you to get with Patrick. Thanks, chief.

Mayor, I appreciate that question. funding is in alignment with the FEMA grant we're looking at and the flood control district money. That's in both 28 and 29 for us, our request to FEMA and the flood control district. So it's relatively matching along those fiscal years.

Any other questions? I think so. So I think I, agree with everybody up here and everything it's been said I 100% agree that I mean this is a striking photo probably not striking enough when you're out there I think we've seen it and in other locations and I've taken pictures of roadways that look like this and send that back and say this this is what we want to have happen and in our downtown hmm But I also agree with Council Member Hustis, and I don't know that it's today a $600,000 project for us in the downtown core. And there is a mountain of construction that's coming through, whether it's the rebuild of the storm drain or building in storm drain or it's moving utilities. I heard a conversation about an upgrade of the utilities And I would assume that would come before or after at some point surrounding the storm drain. There's going to be a tremendous amount of underground and the underground work doesn't work really well with the lights drawn across. So it would be a remove these so that we could get the work done on Monroe. And I don't know that, we've done other stuff on Monroe before and different time, different people, but stuff that's strung across and it ends up inevitably being either in the wrong spot or in conflict with something else. So I'm not excited about going and trying to figure out and approving the entire amount right now, but what I would be interested in is maybe taking this a little bit at a time, and we can come up with a design I spend the design dollars or approve the design dollars and then see where that gets us and then see if that's at that point if it. Maybe it's not doing this entire corridor, but string and lights in front of specific businesses from 4th to. To another location, I don't know that we would necessarily string them in front of. the school, maybe we would, maybe not, but there's probably a conversation to be had in that, and that's a significant amount of the area that we're talking. So is there maybe an opportunity to do, generally when this stuff comes to us, it's in the form of a design concept report where there's an opportunity for an engineer and some people to take a little bit longer look at what this project could ultimately be before it goes into a full-on design Is there opportunity here for that where we can start with a DCR or just the design work and then come up with thoughts and ideas and flesh this out a little bit more?

Mayor and council, typically what we do with the CIP project is we put the full estimate in, start the design, then come back with the design. We do the design with that full budget in mind of an early estimate, which is what this one is. It would be relatively easy to take this one, and I know Amy has a breakout of the project of how much was intended for design to get the approval just tonight for the budget transfer for just that design component so that we have the full thing fleshed out and can come back to council when that is complete and ask for the remaining amount as well. That would be very easy to do and I think 50,000, is that what the breakout is? Or you've got the numbers, I know that. 50,000 so 50,000 is what is intended for the design in the engineering, which is what we would have been spending this summer on this project. If the full thing were approved. Any kind of purchase with the full project approved or just a portion of it would have to come back to Council anyways for you to see it and then to authorize that expenditure. So breaking it into two different parts would not slow down anything that we intended to do, and it would be allow us to go through and. really put together that entire project for you to see it before you approved it.

Okay, Councilman? So just out of curiosity, if we're talking 50,000 for design and then the rest is gonna be materials, where does the $600,000 come from then? I mean, that just seems, I would agree that the number is large. I don't wanna just be flippant with public funds, but where is that material? What am I missing here, I guess?

The bulk of the expense of this project is in the poles themselves. And the estimated cost on those are about $19,000 a piece. And it's estimated that we'll need about.

What are they made out of, titanium? I mean, that just. I mean, you look around and you see things that have been built in this downtown that were done by a bunch of ranch hands and it's been standing for 70 years and we're talking about a $19,000 pole to hold string lights, we can sharpen our pencil on that and figure out something that's not as egregious. Maybe find some contractor that really wants to work in the city and wants to be a part of this and move something forward that's special and really come up with some good pricing rather than just flippantly throw out $19,000 a bowl so they can enjoy their nice trip to Cancun. So that just seems way out of the ballpark on steel for me.

I'm sure part of that's foundation, the drilling, everything else. So it's not just the pole.

The installation, the foundation. And we'll know those details once we get into the design and have a better understanding of those details. But right now, this is just an estimate. to create the CIP at this point, so.

There may be a little cancun money in there, I don't know, but. Okay, so I mean if, I think it might be good to get an idea of cost through a design and approve a design at this point and then take baby steps through. Again, love the idea, maybe it's not the zigzag approach that's here, maybe it's If you say parallel, I swear to God, I'm not saying that. I like the idea of this going across, but it's, I think there's ways to trim it. $600,000 for lighting is a significant amount, and it's the gingerbread that goes on the, typically on the end of a project. And I don't wanna have it installed and have it be in the wrong location once we get everything else complete and done. So to me it makes sense to, get a design, get a project that's ready go, and then we know that if we want, let's say we want to light up the intersection of 4th and Monroe, it's poles at each corner, they're 20 grand a piece, and we get that whole intersection lit up, and then sort of do it a la carte all the way across Monroe instead.

I think that I could probably get behind running this down a little bit more before we improve the full project in the spirit of compromise that we make sure we are pushing this down and looking at it and being good stewards of public funds on top of trying to make it a more walkable, livable, and economic place for the city itself. But whenever we talk about that, I also would like to see within those estimates what we could do about looking about using those poles in the future. Like you said, gingerbread in pieces, if those can be also utilize as the final street pole location and strength for that, maybe that would be some cost savings in a long-term view rather than just a short-term expenditure. Does that make sense? So with that said, I would like to make a motion to amend this item 5C to design work only for, how long do you need to do that, Amy? Do you have any idea? Give you a couple months. Three months, two, three months.

OK. Come back in September. What is my plan to present?

Let's say after the summer we'll come back and we look at that item and make sure that we're doing the best we can for the downtown and for the public funds. I'd like to make a motion for 5C for design expenditure only up to $80,000, just to put a little buffer in there for it. You said 50? Yes, Councilman Yonker. Okay. Thank you. About $80,000 for design. I'll second.

The Aruba money you're adding?

Did you say 80 or did you say 50? 80.

I originally said 50.

Okay, so what is it actually? I'll take 80.

Okay.

You opened the door.

I did. I will let it stand. Thank you very much, Amy. All right.

I have a motion for 5C with the amendments design only and up to 80 grand for design. And a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. And opposed? Okay, great conversation, council. Thank you. Thank you, Amy.

Thank you.

Item 5D, council take action on resolution number 50-26, approving recreation or public purpose lease AZAZ 105906946 between the City of Buckeye and the United States of America Bureau of Land Management for 640 acres east of Skyline Regional Park. And Bob Weisner, how are you?

Good, good. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Pleased to be here tonight to share that BLM has offered us a lease for 640 acres adjacent to Skyline Regional Park. So as part of tonight's presentation, we'll talk about the history of the project, we'll go over the lease terms, and then also the planned amenities. So back in 2016, Council authorized the submittal of the lease application to the Bureau of Land Management, again, for two parcels that total 640 acres. Each of these parcels are 320 acres each. The south parcel is located directly west of the Lost Creek temporary trailhead that's been in place for about 20 years, whereas the north parcel is about a mile west of the Verrado steps in the Canyon Vista trailhead. So since that time, the city has conducted our due diligence. We've completed all the required studies that the federal government has asked us to complete. That included an environmental assessment that looked at the impacts that the proposed improvements would have to the resources on the site. We also did a plan of development, and then we also completed some additional studies, included a cultural survey and a biological survey. As part of the process there was also two public comment periods. The first was in July of last year and that was related to the environmental assessment and again the proposed improvements outlined in the plan of development. And the second public comment period occurred in March of this year and that was related to BLM's decision to move forward with a lease offer to the City of Buckeye. And again through that process BLM has found these lands suitable for lease to the City of Buckeye. so this is exactly the same type of lease that we have for skyline regional park that was approved by council back in 2010 and again that's a 25-year lease for the 640 acres after the end of that 25-year period blm can either renew that lease for an additional 25 years or they can patent the lands or transfer the title over to the city of buckeye This action will expand the Skyline Regional Park footprint from the current 8,675 acres to 9,315 acres. And the great part about these recreation and public purpose leases is that there's no cost to the city. There's no annual lease payment required or any upfront lease costs. So the plan amenities that we've identified in the plan of development are consistent with the council approved Parks and Recreation Master Plan from 2025. And so this action will preserve an additional 640 acres of open space. And through the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, we heard that was one of the top amenities priorities of our residents that was supported by 87%. It will also expand access into Skyline Regional Park by providing two additional trail heads on the east side of the park. So I'm going to quickly go over the proposed improvements that's in that plan of development. So this is the south parcel. And again, you can see Lost Creek Drive. And the Verrado temporary trailhead is located just east of this parcel. So again, we know that Verrado is going to continue to expand further west and north of this parcel. And so we'll have that establishing an ADA accessible trail. And then we'll have connecting trails to existing trails in Skyline Regional Park. So again, we'll have a connection over to our Lost Creek Trail. There'll also be a connection over to our Quartz Mine Trail and our Javelina Summit Trail. For the northern, and let me go back really quick. So I thought I was gonna forget something and I almost did. So this project is currently in our CIP. It's identified with design in FY30 and construction in FY31. For the north parcel, we are looking at, again, access drive to the property, parking lot, restroom facility, but then looking at a bike skills course. So again, through the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, we heard through Verrado residents that there was a large contingency of mountain bike enthusiasts, so providing them an opportunity to help them develop and build their skills before they go out onto the trails in Skyline Regional Park. And you can see on the blue lines there, we would have connections over to future planned trails in Skyline Regional Park. This project, however, is not in the CIP. This would be further out and would be contingent on whenever Verado expands further west, and we would have roadway access and utilities to tie into for this project. So again, through this action tonight, this will help preserve an additional 640 acres. It'll create two future access points into Skyline Regional Park. And again, there's no annual lease cost to the city. So staff recommends approving resolution 50-26 for the ground lease between the city and the Bureau of Land Management. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Okay, council questions, Vice Mayor.

Can we talk lights?

No lights in parks.

No, I think this is a great idea. Thank you guys for putting it all together. And looking at city management, can we accelerate the bike skills course? Move that forward maybe next year?

We can definitely put it in for consideration in the CIP for next year, unless you're requesting it to be looked at for this coming fiscal year. Next year is fine.

Right after the string lines.

All right, any other questions? Okay, Council, what's your pleasure? Oh, sorry, Council Member Eustis.

Will, how far east will this extend the existing park? Will it extend it over far enough to where the Verrado Trails will be able to connect easily to it?

Yes, Mayor, Council Member Hustis, that is correct. So the idea is to connect the trails between Skyline Regional Park with those that are already existing within the Verrado community, especially for that northern parcel. So the intent is to connect the trails off the Verrado steps, have those travel west and connect into these for that northern parcel. On the southern parcel, we already have an existing trail connection with Skyline Regional Park, so the intent is to preserve that connection.

Very good, very good, thank you very much. Thank you.

Okay, council agenda item 5D, what is your pleasure?

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that we approve agenda item 5D as in David.

Second. I have a motion and a second for approval of 5D. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? 5D passes unanimous. Thank you very much. That's exciting. Six comments from Mayor and Council. Any comments from Mayor and Council? Councilman Hustis.

just real quick we improved uh this evening uh to apply and to get some money to put a uh i guess a a um earth wall around our sewer plant down below down here And I was in Missouri in 1993 when the Missouri River flooded, and it washed out one in West St. Louis County. And you just don't realize, I spoke with somebody today, how critical that that is, if that were to take that piece out down here below us. I'm very glad that we've approved that this evening, and hopefully we can get something built around that plant down there. So I have seen one, as I say, even though it was a 500-year flood, but you just don't know when something like that's coming. So I just wanted to say thank you to everybody that's been behind getting this applied for and possibly approved to get something built down there. That's all I have, Mr. Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member. Quickly, Mr. Mayor, I just want to say thank you, gentlemen. I know that there is something I've always appreciated about being on this council is the fact when we don't necessarily agree, we can be gentlemen about it and discuss it and come up with something that we think is the best for the community and best for the city. So I see other councils that struggle with that decorum, and I'm glad that we don't have those problems here. So thank you. Good on you.

Thank you. Well said. Okay, item seven, city manager's report on some of your current events.

Thank you, Mayor. I got two items for you tonight. The first is construction to widen Verrado Way and Yuma Road intersection to its ultimate configuration is scheduled to begin one week from today, Tuesday, May 26th. The project will add travel lanes in each direction of Verrado Way from Yuma to Van Buren, along with upgraded traffic signals, street lighting, utility work, and significant drainage improvements. Unfortunately, the intersection will be fully closed for traffic from May 26th through the fall of 2026. We've delayed the project until after school was out so that we could minimize any impacts on that. By having the full closure, the overall timeline of the project is actually shortened by almost a year. So it makes a lot of sense to really do a hard closure in a situation like this, and it saves millions of dollars over a phased construction of the project. So we are very aware of the inconvenience it's gonna cause to a lot of people, but at the end, it really shortens that and saves the city a lot of money overall. The project, throughout the project, we will continue to main access to businesses, residents, and schools. However, anybody that has to travel in that area, plan for some additional time and for some interesting routes to get where you need to go to. Secondly, next Monday is Memorial Day. in the city's annual Memorial Day ceremony will be taking place on May 25th at the Louis B. Hazelton Memorial Cemetery. It says ceremony on my thing. So cemetery, the ceremony is at the cemetery. This year's program will feature several military honors, including the presentation of colors, three volley salute in a keynote address from our special guest, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Carlos Ruiz, whose services and local ties to Buckeye will really make this year's event especially meaningful. Community members are invited to attend the ceremony, which will begin at 8 a.m. That's what I have. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. Yeah, that... the Memorial Day ceremony, and having Sergeant Major Ruiz there, that is a really, really big deal. He's Buckeye High grad, and Sergeant Major, he is the highest enlisted guy in the Marine Corps, and has achieved incredible success in the Marine Corps.

I can't wait to meet him, shake his hand, and thank him for his service. Incredible representative of the city of Buckeye, that's for sure.

Okay, item number eight is proposals for future agenda items. Seeing none, item number nine with nothing else on the agenda, we are adjourned.