City Council - Special Meeting

Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here. We're going to go ahead and start our, we have a special meeting first before our regular council meeting. So we're going to go ahead and I will call that meeting to order. And Adriana, if you can please accept for the record that five members are here, Council Member Herman and Council Member Romo, if you can excuse them. So noted. Thank you. Okay, first item is item C1. And Brenda, I believe that's you, is that correct? Yep. Okay, thank you.

Mayor and members of the council, we are quickly approaching the finish line of adopting the fiscal year 2027 budget. State law requires that council holds this special meeting to adopt fiscal year 2027 final adopted budget. This item is for you to consider the approval of a resolution adopting the final budget for the city of Casa Grande for fiscal year ending June 30, 2027 in the amount of $338,000 Thousand 6. This again 338 million $629,939. Per state statute, the Marin Council adopted the tentative budget for the City of Casa Grande on May 4th, 2026. In compliance with Title 42 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, the tentative budget was published twice in the local newspaper and a public hearing was held on June 1st, 2026. at that regular council meeting to provide an opportunity for taxpayers to be heard on the FY27 budget and the property tax levy. The fiscal year 2026 final budget represents all the information that has been presented to the mayor and council to date and state law requires that the council hold this special meeting. Approval of the resolution will adopt the final budget for the city for the fiscal year and establishes the spending plan for the following fiscal year. No expenditure of funds may take place that is not in conformance with the adopted budget.

Madam Mayor, if I can just add one additional item to Ms. Hasler's presentation. Mayor and Council obviously heard each department's budget presentation in our budget retreat, and we've also had discussions during the tentative budget I want to talk just very briefly about the new positions and reclassifications that we envision making effective July 1. It's embedded within the number that Brenda has outlined. And I've given, for all of you, a copy of the document. But essentially, just so everybody knows, we had 70 new positions and 12 reclassifications submitted by nine departments. I know the Mayor and Council is aware of that. And the recommendation this year is that the mayor and council consider a phased approach to these requests through the upcoming fiscal year. The primary objective of this approach is to align personnel and compensation decisions with the completion of our ongoing internal operational analyses and organizational and financial studies. We, as I mentioned during the budget retreat, have a number of divisions that we're midstream in the operational analysis. We anticipate continuing into other departments outside of public works and community services this upcoming year. But at least in my mind, trying to decipher which positions we would be able to fund and not fund would be difficult not having the recommendations of those particular studies that are underway. And so we do have out of the 82 positions that have been requested, In some form of adjustment, we do have six that I am recommending tonight. These are positions that are currently, many of them are budget neutral to us at this point. But in the finance department, we have a job title change from business application analyst to network administrator. A job title change from payroll specialist to senior account clerk. In the planning department, a reclassification of one code compliance specialist to a senior compliance specialist. In the police department, we have a new community services officer that is really a combination of two part-time personnel that we have today, moving that into a full-time position. And then in public works, specifically in the wastewater division, and as the council knows, we've had a fair number of studies on the human capital component of our wastewater, but we would be proposing a new position, senior wastewater plant operator and a new position for water plant operator. This is just the start. I'm envisioning that we will be bringing various tranches, two or three of them during the year. All of these fall within the categories that the mayor and council approved in the compensation plan at your last meeting. But I just wanted to make the council aware of the fact that this is where we'll start and anticipate that as we work through these analyses, we'll be bringing back to mayor and council consideration for any additional staff that is either a reclass or a new position. as those are done and the recommendations are finalized. Okay. Thank you.

Okay, any questions? Brenda? No? Okay, so Adriana, if we can get a resolution number, please.

Resolution number 5942, a resolution of the Council of the City of Casa Grande, Arizona, adopting the budget for the fiscal year 2026 to 2027.

Motion number 5942 as presented. Thank you. Second.

There's been a motion and a second. Well, we need a roll call. Roll call vote, please, Adriana.

Council Member Dugan? Yes. Council Member Edwards? Yes. Council Member Huddleston? Yes. Mayor Perth and Bedellin? Yes. Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you.

The next item, C2. Brenda.

As the fiscal year 2026-2027 final budget has been adopted by the Marin Council, the adopted budget includes $161,787,824 in capital improvement projects. This item is for Mayor and Council to consider adopting an ordinance approving this fiscal year 26-27 capital improvement plan. With the approval of this ordinance, the approved projects will still come back to Council for approval or denial of the specific projects and to approve the bid or proposal, but projects at that time would be approved by resolution of the Council. this process was changed several years ago which the city has used to streamline the process and allow the projects to move forward approximately 45 days faster on average for those items that council approves capital items over 50 000 not included on the approved list would still need approval by ordinance The list of items to be included in the approval was included as part of the agenda packet. If you have any questions.

Okay, any questions? Comments? Hey, 45 days makes a big difference. Appreciate that. So no questions. If we can get an ordinance number, please.

Ordinance number 3507, an ordinance of the city of Casa Grande, Arizona, approving the city's fiscal 2026-2027 capital improvement plan, authorizing the approval of purchases in excess of $50,000 for projects on the capital improvement plan to be done by resolution and authorizing the transfer of budgeted dollars. Authority.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I move that we approve ordinance number 3507 as presented. Second.

Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Are there any further questions? If we can get a roll call vote, please.

Councilmember Dugan?

Yes.

Councilmember Edwards? Yes. Councilmember Huddleston?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tembidilli?

Yes.

Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you.

Okay, Brenta, item C3.

This item is for Mayor and Council to consider adopting an ordinance approving the fiscal year 26-27 large operating list, which includes operating expenditures in excess of $50,000. As part of the fiscal year 26-27 adopted budget, there are several large generally recurring items related to the day-to-day operations of the city departments. For example, Public Works annually purchases chemicals and laboratory services in the operation of the wastewater treatment facility and also provides contracted janitorial services to city facilities. The finance department procures annual licensing agreements, servicing agreements for software to be used by city employees. While not all purchases... necessary require further approval under the city's procurement code, many of these purchases will exceed the threshold of $50,000 and thus require approval by council. Staff recommends mayor and council consider approving this ordinance to approve the individual purchases outlined in the large operating list that was in the agenda packet. Despite this blanket approval to the extent purchasing code requires, each of the approved purchases in excess of 50,000 will still need to be presented to council for approval or denial and that will be done by resolution as opposed to ordinance. Purchases including the ordinance, oh, I just said that. Again, this allows us to move a lot of these forward approximately 45 days faster than if we waited to do them all by resolution.

Any questions, comments? Okay, Adriana, if we can get an ordinance number, please.

Ordinance number 3508, an ordinance of the city of Casa Grande, Arizona, approving the city's fiscal year 2026 to 2027 large operating expenditure list, authorizing the approval of purchases in excess of $50,000 for the items listed on the city's fiscal year 2026 to 2027 large operating expenditure list to be done by resolution and authorizing the transfer of budget authority.

Oh, OK. Any further questions? No. OK. We can get a roll call vote, please. Oh, motion. Oh, we've got to get a motion. Oh. Mayor Fitzgibbon.

Sorry. Mayor Fitzgibbon.

Step ahead here.

I move that we approve ordinance number 3508 as presented. Second.

There you go. Okay. Now a motion and a second. Any further discussion? No. Okay. If we can get a roll call vote, please.

Council Member Dugan?

Yes.

Council Member Edwards? Yes. Council Member Huddleston? Yes. Mayor Pro Tempe Dillon? Yes. Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you.

Okay. Item C4. Rundown.

This item is for Mayor and Council to consider adopting an ordinance authorizing the purchase of all replacement and new vehicle purchases included in the blanket purchase list that was in the agenda review packet. As staff continues to navigate through the challenging times of supply chain issues that are affecting all levels of operations, the city continues to need to be as prepared as possible to take advantage of purchasing options that arise quickly and become available to fill some of the approved vehicle purchases identified in the FY27 budget. Staff is requesting Mayor and Council authorize the purchase of both replacement and new vehicles and equipment that were approved by the Mayor and Council in the budget and are included in the blanket approval list. This will allow us to act more promptly when they become available and will give the city the best chance of acquiring vehicles as vendors have become increasingly unwilling or unable to hold vehicles while staff goes through the normal purchasing process. Although staff is requesting the Mayor and Council provide formal approval and authorization to purchase these items with this action to help secure these vehicles, staff will continue to ensure that it follows the procurement code and that procurement falls within the budget authority granted by the Mayor and Council. The only change we are seeking in advance advance council approval of the ordinance instead of our normal procedure of bringing each purchase separately to council for approval. This request is consistent with the city's approach to obtaining vehicles over the last several years. Although staff cannot guarantee the city will be able to obtain all the vehicles required due to potential shortages and price increases by including these vehicles, the mayor and council would maximize the city's ability to acquire these and to do so at the best available prices.

Thank you, Brenda. Any questions, comments? Okay, if we can get an ordinance number, please.

Ordinance number 3509, an ordinance of the Council of the City of Casa Grande, Arizona, approving the purchase of budgeted vehicles, authorizing expenditure of public funds, authorizing the transfer of budget authority, and authorizing the execution of agreements, purchase orders, contracts, and all other necessary documentation by the city manager.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I move to approve ordinance number 3509 as presented. Second.

It has been a motion and a second. If we can get a roll call vote, please.

Council Member Dugan? Yes. Council Member Edwards? Yes. Council Member Huddleston? Yes. Mayor President Bedell? Yes.

Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Okay. We'll go ahead and adjourn that special meeting. And let me find my notes for the next meeting. There we go. Okay, ready for the next meeting? Okay, I will go ahead and call to order the regular city council meeting. Thank you all for being here this evening. We are going to start with the invocation from Kenny Nolan from Trinity Lutheran Church. And if you can all stand if you're willing and able, and then we'll follow that with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to come here tonight. Give us open mind, open hearts. Bless this committee. Bless this mayor. Bless the people that are here to do business. Lift us up. Let us think of clear heart, clear mind, and get the business done. We ask these things in your gracious name. Amen.

Amen. Please join me for a pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands,

with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Brent. Thank you, Mr. Nolan. Okay, roll call. Adriana, if you can please accept for the record the five members that are present and excuse Councilmember Matt Herman and Councilmember Rebecca Romo. So noted. Thank you very much. Okay, next item on the agenda are the minutes.

Mayor, if you can approve the minutes of the regular meeting on June 1st with a correction on item I-1 to reflect that the item was tabled on a 6-2-1 note, both.

Okay, thank you, Adriana.

Mayor, I move that we approve the minutes from June 1st, 2026 with the amendment of the city council regular meeting. Also consider the minutes for June 1st, 2026 City Council study session. Accept the minutes from the May 5th, 2026 Arts and Culture Commission meeting. And accept the minutes from the April 28th, 2026 Airport Advisory Board meeting. Second.

There's been a motion and a second to approve the minutes. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries. Next item are the claims against the city.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I would move to approve the list of claims from May 27th, 2026 through June 9th, 2026. Second.

There's been a motion and a second to approve the claims. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries. The meeting agenda approval, are there any changes to the meeting agenda?

Madam Mayor, we would ask that you remove item G6 from the agenda entirely. That is a consent item, but there's some additional work that we need to do on that. And just a reminder that there's a scheduled executive session if the council would like to do reports in advance.

Thank you. G6. Anything else? Mm-hm. G6, remove. Anything else removed from the council and from the public? Okay, we can get a motion.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I would move for agenda approval with the exception of item G6 to be removed and the exception of the reports to be moved ahead of the executive session. Second.

Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Okay, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries. Okay, so I have a special presentation. Some nice ladies here with us today. So if I can have Zoe, Gianna, and Priya, members of the Girl Scout Troops, if you can join me up here by the podium. Right up here.

Are you done?

but it's just really a pleasure to have you ladies here today. And I was really moved when I got the email on some of the really neat things that you're doing in our community. So we wanted to make sure that we recognize your efforts. And as I read this, they're gonna show some pictures of what these ladies have done. So again, it's my pleasure to recognize these outstanding young girls for earning the prestigious Girl Scout Silver Award. This award is the highest award that can be earned by a Girl Scout cadet and recognizes girls who demonstrate leadership, initiative, and a commitment to making a lasting difference in your communities. For their Silver Award project, they partnered with the Valley Humane Society, to transform an unfinished donated shed into what they affectionately named the Perfect Love Shack. The shed now serves as a dedicated isolation and recovery space for sick cats that need to be separated from the general cat population while receiving treatment and care. Throughout this project, the girls gain hands-on experience with real construction and design skills. Everything from installing insulation, drywall, and flooring to painting the inside and outside of the shed. They also added their own artistic touch with a beautiful mural and built-in climbing platforms for the cats. Their hard work has created lasting resources that will support countless cats for many years to come. So on behalf of the city of Casa Grande and the city council and I am honored to present each of you with a certificate of recognition for your service to our community and for being outstanding examples of leadership and pride to Casa Grande. We are also including pins for you to wear proudly as you continue to represent the city of Casa Grande. So again, congratulations. Thank you for all you do. And we can't wait to see the great things that you do in the future. So congratulations.

Should we, why don't we come up here? We'll go right here. Stand up. Yeah, sorry.

Thank you, girls. Yeah. Nice job. Appreciate your work. Nice job. That's good.

Chris Crosby. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you for agreeing.

Thank you for your work. Nice job.

Really nice job. So everything led well.

I don't need to say anything.

Hey, I know what it's like.

I was a troop leader. My troop didn't do this stuff. We weren't that creative. But thank you to the parents for your commitment. We know how hard it is. And just for raising just such great examples in our community. So thank you for your help. Thank you. You guys get to see the pictures? Yes. Very cool, right? We have some future developers right here, right? Construction. Okay, thanks again, ladies. Okay, next item on the agenda. is the consent agenda. All items listed with an asterisk are considered routine matters and will be enacted by one motion and one roll call vote of the council. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a council member or member of the public so requests. In which event, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence of the agenda. Is there anything that, anyone, we have one item that's gonna be pulled off. Is there anything else? And anyone, anything from the public? Okay. So if we get a motion.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I move to approve the consent agenda with item G6 removed. Second.

There's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Adriana, if we can get a roll call vote, please.

Council Member. Council Member Dugan.

Yes.

Council Member Edwards. Yes. Council Member Huddleston.

Yes.

Mayor Perth and Bedellin?

Yes.

Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you.

Okay, next item are the public comments. So the Cascaden City Council values citizens' input. So when called, if you did fill out a speaker card, please state your name and address, speak clearly into the microphone, and limit your comments to three minutes or less. In fairness to all speakers, please do not exceed your time. In accordance with the law, the City Council cannot respond to or discuss items not listed on the agenda but may direct them to staff upon conclusion of all public comments. So I do have one speaker card here and that is with Barbara Sundust. Hi Barbara.

Hi. My name is Barbara Sundust, and I live at 1273 East Cordova Avenue, Casa Grande. I might just mention that when I was at Laundry Love last Wednesday, I heard about the death of another one of our Laundry Love people who just didn't have any place to go and succumbed to all kinds of things, I'm sure. And I am truly grateful for the things that are being done to help the unhoused. There are many cooling stations that are being made available during the day, and the Lankola station from 6 to 10 in the evening is a good start, but it's really not enough. I have to sometimes run around doing errands, different things, and whatever, and I'm in and out of my car, and even just when it's not even as hot as it's going to be, by the end of the day, I'm like, my energy is sapped, but I go into an air-conditioned car every time, and I go into an air-conditioned house when I get home, and... I go to bed on a comfortable bed, pretty comfortable anyway, and an air-conditioned house. My heart breaks for understanding that there are people who have to sleep on the ground or in a hot car where you can't even stretch out or anything. Even now it's like 80 in the evening, but as July approaches, it's going to get certainly hotter and the humidity is going to get worse. And just think about trying to sleep like that. I mean, and you're physically exhausted because of the heat, but you also can't sleep. because of the discomfort so what we need is someone who has an unused building I get we can't use something that's already been used it's got to be an unused building that if they'd be willing to give it for an overnight shelter then I know a lot of people in the city would try and figure out ways to make that possible oh my gosh time is flying So that's one thing. Then, of course, the elderly women who have no place to go and can't afford $1,000 or $1,200 a month for rent, and they're not ever going to get a job to get more than that, so we still need a shelter, especially, I think, for women who... They need to have an apartment complex where it's affordable living for them, which isn't happening yet. I think it's going to happen, but not yet. So we need some place in between for them to go. And so my last 15 seconds. Again, if someone has property or money, I mean, we make jokes about it all the time, but I don't have any money, but I know there's people out there with money that could help us to do something for these unhoused people. Thank you.

Thank you, Barbara.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else that would like to speak and address the council? okay i will go ahead and close the public comments then i know i have one more speaker card but i know it's item l1 so um okay so we'll go ahead and go on to item i one hi i take it that'll be me

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Staff recommends that Mayor and Council authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with Core Construction for the construction of improvements to the Animal Care and Adoption Center at a guaranteed maximum price of $429,741. This project will involve installation of new air conditioning units and LED lighting to the kennel building. Core Construction originally built this facility in 2009. At that time, the budget only allowed for installation of evaporative coolers in the kennel building. City staff and the public visiting the facility had brought up concerns about the heat in the kennel during the hot months, and Council has approved funds to make the upgrade to air conditioning units. If approved, the long lead items would be able to be ordered to start the process. Construction is slated for the fall to ensure the existing coolers would not be disconnected during the summer months. And I would also like to add, out of that $429,000, about $90,000 of the funds are for the actual AC units. And with that, is there any questions?

Any questions, comments? Sean's looking at me. Yeah, I got some.

Hey, I just really wanted to thank you guys for meeting with me. We got right on it. The council meeting was on Monday, and we met up on Thursday. And I was glad to get the contractor down there that specialized in evaporative cooling. And at the end of the day, we just kind of determined it's never been done in a facility like this. And so we can't get a guarantee that we're going to hit the numbers that the contractor said we would. But I really wanted to appreciate you guys' time meeting with me, taking me through the facility. And for me, I'm all for plan A. We'll go back to the air conditioners, and I'm going to vote for this tonight. So thank you guys. I really appreciate you guys' hard work and dedication to those animals.

And Councilman Dougal, I'd just like to say thank you for your time that day. I thought it was a very constructive meeting, and I also learned a lot about some of the new technologies involved in evaporative cooling.

And I think we can use that technology in the future, and I would like to get with you with that contractor in Pima County that specializes in animal facilities and maybe put those two people together. that contractor and maybe they can experiment and try and find something out that'll be more feasible for the animals and for our electricity and the cost and the future.

Yes, that's something definitely to take a look at, sir.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions, comments? no and and we appreciate that sean i mean some of the questions you raised i think you know we had we you know were able to get some of the answers and looked into some of those so it's good so it helps us make a decision here today and it's going to be nice to have the air condition when you see these young girls here that are going and volunteering their time you know we have a lot of people that volunteer time there and so i'm it's going to make them a little more comfortable especially the employees as well obviously as the animals so thank you Okay, so let's see if we can get, where am I here? Resolution number, if there's no more questions. Resolution number, please.

Resolution number 5926, a resolution of the Council of the City of Cassegrain, Arizona, accepting a proposal from Core Construction, Inc., for the construction improvements of the Animal Care and Adoption Center, authorizing the expenditure of public funds, authorizing execution of a contract with or purchase order to Core Construction, Inc., and authorizing the transfer of budget authority.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I'd like to move for approval of resolution number 5926 as presented. Second.

Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Okay, if we can get a roll call vote, please.

Councilmember Dugan?

Yes.

Councilmember Edwards? Yes. Councilmember Huddleston?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tempidon? Yes. Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. Okay, next item are the appointments to the Cascaran Youth Commission. And I know they have me on here, so good, we have the names here. So I wanted to just congratulate, usually Matt is here. You guys, I know we have some of the commission members, Matt is out of town. So I just wanted to thank everyone. So if I could just, when I call the names, if you could just please stand. So we just really appreciate these young adults that participate in this youth commission and your commitment and dedication to serve the city of Cascaran. So congratulations. I'll go ahead and read those that are recommended for appointment. And again, if you're here, if you can stand. Brinkley Berry, McKinley Carrier, Valentin Flores, Viviana Guerrera, Cale Hampton, Jacqueline Hernandez, Lily Lara, Victoria Nash, Piper O'Sullivan, Azaria Poindexter, Lidiana Rodriguez, Damian Stinson, Eduardo Tinahiro, Esten Valdez, Kendra Wilson, and Quinn Wong. So, did you already stand? Okay. I was looking down, so that's why I didn't know. So thank you for being here. And again, thank you so much for serving. We really appreciate all the feedback and input that you give to us as a council. So we look forward to having you join us. So congratulations. So I think we need a motion to, yes? Okay, so we need a motion to approve the appointments.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I move to approve the appointments to the Cascadon Youth Commission for fiscal year 2026 to 2027 as presented. Second.

Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Okay, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries. Again, congratulations, everyone. Okay, item K-1. And Brenda, that's you. I'm back. You're back. All right.

This item is to consider the adoption of an ordinance establishing the primary and secondary property tax rates for the City of Casa Grande for fiscal year 2027. At the June 1, 2026 regular City Council meeting, the Mayor and Council held a public hearing on the FY2027 final budget and the primary and secondary property tax rates. Primary property taxes collected are used within the general fund for operational purposes of the City, and secondary property taxes are utilized to pay voter authorized general obligation bond debt. Based upon current assessed valuations, the proposed primary property tax rate of 0.9643, which is the same rate as last year, will raise a tax levy of approximately $6,239,577 and the secondary rate of 1.1291 will raise a tax levy of approximately $7,306,220. The secondary tax rate of 1.1291 per $100 of assessed valuation was increased from .4154 from last year to cover the additional principal and interest payments anticipated due to the recreation bond approved by voters in November of 2025. And with that, I will answer any questions. Okay.

Any questions, comments? No. Okay. If we can get an ordinance number, please.

Ordinance number 3513, an ordinance of the Council of the City of Casa Grande, Arizona, levying upon the assessed valuation of the property within the City of Casa Grande subject to taxation a certain sum upon each $100 of valuation sufficient to raise the amount estimated to be required in the annual budget as the amount estimated to be received from fines, licenses, and other sources of revenue, providing funds for various bond redemptions for the purpose of paying interest upon bonded indebtedness, and providing a general fund for general municipal expenses, all for the fiscal year ending the 30th day of June, 2027.

If we can get a motion, please.

May I ask for the move that we approve ordinance number 3513 as presented. Second.

Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Adriana, if we can get a roll call vote, please.

Council Member Dugan?

Yes.

Council Member Edwards? Yes. Council Member Huddleston?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tempe Dillon?

Yes.

Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. Okay, item, thank you, Brenda. Item L1. Jacqueline, hello.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Before we get into the first item, I did want to give a quick overview of the major general plan amendment process. Major general plan amendments occur twice a year. It goes to two planning commission meetings and a city council meeting. It typically requires land use changes over 50 acres and also requires an additional 60 day notification for government officials, public officials, counties, school districts, public land management agencies, public utility companies, professional and other organizations. um a little overview of our manufacturing and industry uh land use category this was identified in our general plan 20 um 2030 that was approved in 2021 that this land use category may need additional acreage it was designed to promote suitable areas for a variety of industrial and manufactured uses creating an economic engine for the city These areas are situated in locations to take advantage of regional transportation networks that includes I-8 and I-10, as well as the Union Pacific Railroad. And then here are some of the appropriate land uses that are found within this manufacturing industry area, as well as the base zoning that we typically see. So moving on to this request, Cactus Mine is requesting a major general plan amendment to support expansion and modernization of mining operations associated with the Sacaton Mine. It's generally located northeast of the Maricopa-Cascaran Highway and southeast of Vell Vista Boulevard. The request is to change approximately 1,832 acres from neighborhoods, community corridor, and commerce and business to manufacturing and industry. Here are the general plan review criteria. These items are covered in the staff report. Staff finds this request meets the general plan review criteria. However, I will be going over the first item in a little more detail. This item, number one, is actually broken out into nine different questions regarding the land use elements section of the general plan. And in this one, I'll be covering the second one. and that the community growth should be driven by industrial corporate office, professional services, financial services, research and development, and other similar developments which offer the opportunity for high-paying quality jobs. The advancement of the Cactus Project, including reopening and operation of the Sacaton Mine and incorporation of the City Cactus properties will result in exceptional opportunities for high-paying quality jobs, as it will require a variety of skilled employees. And to promote this diversification of employment opportunities, they expect employees to come from the City of Casa Grande. And one of the aggregate resources goals is to diversify industrial land uses to include aggregate and mining activities. So this request directly supports the general plan's policies encouraging diversification of industrial land uses, including mining and aggregate opportunities. Regarding stakeholder engagement efforts, the staff and applicant met all the city code and ARS requirements, including the 60-day review period. Notices were mailed to property owners within 1,000 feet. Public hearing notices were published in the paper. Signs were posted at the site. And there were also two public hearings at separate locations per ARS requirements. The first meeting was held in April at the Cascade Rec Center, as well as in May at our Planning Commission meeting. I did receive a few inquiries regarding this request. Prior to the first public hearing of the major general plan amendment, I received inquiries just wanting to know more about the process. And at that meeting, approximately five adjacent property owners attended to understand the request. I also received a phone call last week asking about the request and process from an adjacent property owner. Regarding next steps, this is the first request in the development process. If the major general plan amendment is approved today, the planning and development, which is currently under review, will be scheduled for public hearing at a later date when it's ready to go. The P&D zone change would go to Planning Commission and City Council for approval. So there are additional opportunities for public input and the public hearing process. And if the zoning is approved, a site plan application would be viewed administratively by staff. So with that, at the May 7th, 2026 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the commission voted unanimously to forward a recommendation of approval to city council for the major general planning request to change the land use category from neighborhoods, community corridor, and commerce and business to manufacturing industry. I hope to answer any questions the council may have. Thank you, Jacqueline.

Any questions? Comments? This has been a long, long process, isn't it, gentlemen, that are in the back there? So any, no other, no questions, comments?

No?

Okay. Oh yeah, that's right, I do have one speaker card. Thanks for that reminder. Oh yeah, that's right. Okay, so this is, no questions here, but this is a public hearing, and so I do have one speaker card. If you would like to come up, Hubert Charles Dillon. And Hubert, if you can give us your name and address. And if you can try to limit your comments to three minutes, please.

Good evening. My name is Hubert Charles Dillon, Jr. I live at 3241 West Val Vista Boulevard, Casa Grande, Arizona, 85193. I'm here tonight regarding the Arizona Sonoran Copper Cactus Mine Project. I previously spoke before the Zoning Commission, but tonight I have handed the city clerk a fully comprehensive version of my statement to ensure the council has my complete testimony entered directly in your official record. I want to stress that while some call this a historical site, the mine was completely closed down in 1984 when we bought our property. It was dead and inactive. Now, restarting an operation of this scale directly threatens my seven-acre property. This is a multi-generation home where my family lives, been here for about just under 30 years, and the health and safety of my two elderly parents, my five-year-old son, and myself are my number one priority. I believe I am the closest full-time residents to this project. Now I didn't even read all of the 1,500 pages in that agenda. From what I saw, the developers keep referring to the surrounding area essentially as vacant land. To a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, a family's homestead probably looks like nothing on a map, but the truth is people have built their lives and developed their homes out here. Their operation sits south of me, but the proposed heap leach pad, which is where they pour acid on the copper ore, I believe, is planned to be right behind my property line. They're talking about putting a dirt berm to separate us, but I believe that leach pad is going to be right in the area less than 1,000 feet from my door. I actually think it's closer to 600 to 800 feet, which is another question I'd like to be answered. Why are the crushing and chemical areas being put close to the residential areas out there? Those of us living out in the rural side are used to the environment, including things like dairy farms where organic smells carry in the wind for miles, but we are talking about a massive industrial leach pad processing chemicals, not organic farm stuff right next to mine and my neighbor's homes. No matter how high they build their dirt berm, it will not stop chemical dust and it will not stop the wind. It will not protect our air quality. Just like I stated to the zoning commission, I intend to personally monitor my own air quality. TO ENSURE MY FAMILY IS PROTECTED. I ASK THAT YOU THOROUGHLY REVIEW THE ZONING REPORT AND HEAVILY WEIGH WHEN SEVERE PERMANENT IMPACT THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE ON MY FAMILY'S HOME, HEALTH, AND MY NEIGHBORS ALSO. SO, YEAH. AND ALSO KEEP IN MIND PROPERTY VALUES IN THE AREA BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO DROP BEING NEXT TO A MINE, JUST THE FACT OF IT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. Is there anyone else that would like to speak on this item? Sure. If you can also give us your name and address.

Yeah, I did submit a card.

That's okay. It's okay.

Excuse me, Richard Vasquez, 1091 John S. Salazar Road. Excuse me. I'm one of the people that's within 1,000 feet. When I bought there, I bought there because there was nothing there. I wanted to be separated from development. Now development's coming to my backyard. And based upon what I heard in the planning commission, A buffer has to exist between the development and existing residences. I questioned who determines how big this buffer is, and nobody knew. So once again, I want to ask the question, who decides how big the buffer is? And that's it. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Is there anyone else? Okay, I will go ahead and close the public hearing. And any other questions from the council? Okay, so Adriana, if we can get a resolution and and i think before we move that the only question i want to see is you know i know there's several people here from cactus mine and i i don't know i know there's been a lot of um engagement and and communication with the public and i and i i guess i would just hope that there's some type of meetings with these neighbors to you know try to work through some of that since they've been there um so i that's that's what i would like to see is is make sure that that is happening moving forward. So, Brett, is it okay if he comments again, the gentleman?

Yeah, it's up to you to.

Okay, yeah, go ahead. You can go ahead. Why don't you come up to the microphone now? Yeah.

I was just going to state that, honestly, I, yeah, thankfully one of my neighbors said something and I saw the sign on the side of the road. They pointed out what's that about. That's how I knew. I didn't receive anything in the mail. Nobody came to my house. And being the closest neighbor that would be affected to that, I would expect somebody would come tell me. Because also, like I said, in the deal, they've been saying, and all the paperwork I've seen, it's vacant land. I'm clearly not vacant. I got a 1,200-square-foot shop, and I got a house out there. So, I mean, like, yeah. Okay.

And I know the city sends notifications. Is that right, Jacqueline? So is there a reason why he wouldn't have gotten something on this?

I would have to check our list, but it could have been they didn't have an address associated with the county.

Right. Okay. So we'll have Jacqueline talk to you after and just make sure we have an address. And then as far as, you know, I'm just hoping that Cactus Mike can kind of continue those communications with the neighbors.

And, Mayor, if I could, I just want to remind the mayor and council of a couple of things, right, when we deal with general plan amendments. The first of those is this is not an actual rezoning of the property. It's a prerequisite of the rezoning of the property. So as Jacqueline said, any changes in the zoning will still come back through the zoning process through both Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the council. Equal is important tonight, and I mention this every time we have a major general plan amendment, The voting requirements are different for a major general plan amendment. They are two-thirds of the entirety of the council. So normally that's two-thirds, which is five people tonight. It is 100%. So if anyone does vote no, we will announce that it fails by whatever vote it is.

Okay.

Okay. But the good thing is this is coming back. I mean, it's just the.

Yeah, this is only the general plan. You know, and there's no, at this point tonight, there is no zoning application that's along with it. Okay. As Jacqueline said. Yes. That should be expected to come, you know, soon. And I'm sure that she can reach out to Mr. Dillon and others to make sure that they get notice of those.

Okay. Thank you for the clarification. Okay. So if we can get a resolution number, please.

Resolution number 5273.43, a resolution of the Council of the City of Casa Grande, Arizona, amending the City of Casa Grande 2030 general plan adopted by resolution number 5273 by amending the land use designation from neighborhoods, community corridor, and commerce and business to manufacturing and industry and property generally located northeast of the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and southeast of Bell Vista Boulevard, Casa Grande, Arizona.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I move that we approve resolution number 5273.43 as presented. Second.

Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Page round if we can get a roll call vote.

Council Member Dugan?

Yes.

Council Member Edwards? Yes. Council Member Hiddleston?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tempe Dillon?

Yes.

Mayor Fitzgibbons?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Okay, thank you. Okay. And L2. That's still you, Jacqueline, right? OK. I'm not the only one.

All right, this request is for a major general plan amendment and a zone change request. So this site is generally located near the northwest corner of Gila Bend Highway and Burris Road. It's approximately 68.45 acres. And the first request is a major general plan amendment to change from neighborhoods to manufacturing and industry. And the second request is a zone change request from PAD mixed use that includes residential and commercial to general industrial I-2. Again, here's the general plan review criteria. All criteria has been evaluated and covered within the staff report. Staff finds this request meets the general plan review criteria. This request supports the continued expansion of an established industrial corridor in an area already identified for industrial growth. It's along a major regional transportation corridor of Gila Bend Highway and would expand employment land inventory. Moving on to the zone change review criteria, here's the three zone change criteria covered in the staff report. And I'll be going over these in a little more detail, which also associates with the journal plan. So the first is that the action is consistent with the city's journal plan, including the goals, policies, and other applicable elements. One of the goals and actions of the manufacturing industry, if the general plan amendment is approved, would provide and expand the manufacturing and industry land use areas to accommodate a variety of industries. And that one of the action steps is identify locations where it would be beneficial to increase the manufacturing industry areas within the city. Again, this zoning request is consistent with the city's general plan of manufacturing industry and supports the city's objective for industrial expansion, economic diversification, and high-quality job creations. The second, that a rezoning conforms to the general plan if it proposes land uses, densities, or intensities within a range of identified uses of the general plan. Again, the requested zoning of I-2 is an appropriate zoning district for manufacturing industry land use category per the 2030 general plan. And while there's not specified density nor intensities for this land use category that pertains to general industrial development, this is usually looked at at the site plan stage and that the requested zoning for General Industrial I-2 is appropriate in the manufacturing industry land use category, and compatibility can be achieved through design at the site plan review time. And that to ensure that it's appropriate compatibility, staff has developed conditions of record for the site as well, which will be covered in additional slides. And third, that the proposed zone change is necessary and proper at this time to meet the land use needs of the residents of the city. Again, the city's current demand for general industrial land is significant, and this rezoning would expand that available area. Through conditions of record associated with the zone change and during the site plan process, staff will ensure that appropriate buffers and mitigation measures will be incorporated into the final design to ensure development is compatible with the existing residential development in the area. Regarding stakeholder engagement efforts, staff and the applicant met all the requirements per the city code and ARS for the major general plan amendment. Again, there was a 60-day review period. Public notices were mailed out to property owners within 1,000 feet. Again, there were two public hearings for the major general plan amendment. I did receive one phone call prior to the first public hearing inquiring about the project and one email prior to the second Planning Commission meeting inquiring if the access would be off Burris or Gila Bend Highway. I just noted that that would be done at the site plan level. At the May 7th Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the commission voted unanimously 7-0 to forward a recommendation of approval to city council for the major general plan amendment to amend the land use category from neighborhoods to manufacturing industry. regarding the zone change staff recommended the following conditions these are typically what we've seen for projects that are wanting to request i2 zoning along gateway corridors in this case it would ski limit highway with regards to aesthetics elevations and architectural standards we also include the condition of no conditional use permits for for uses involving the storage utilization or manufacturing of volatile or explosive materials or products shall be allowed. And we also added an additional 200 foot building setback from the existing residential development to the east of the site. And then our fourth condition is our typical right of way request. However, at the May 7th Planning Commission meeting, Commission voted 5-2 to forward a recommendation of approval to City Council with the following conditions of approval, adding 5 and 6. Their conditions included all conditional uses of the I-2 zone are prohibited within 600 feet of the future right-of-way for Burris Road, except for audible bill repair services, audible bill washing establishments, daycare centers, and wireless telecommunication facilities. Additionally, fertilizer manufacturing and battery storage with S building occupancy are prohibited. as permitted uses within the 600 foot buffer, provided that battery storage is permitted as an accessory use, and that data centers be prohibited throughout the site. Since the Planning Commission meeting, the applicant has reached out and they are opposed to these additional stipulations. Staff also finds these additional conditions to be unwarranted as the uses prohibited by Planning Commission are each a separate planning, excuse me, separate conditional use permit that requires Planning Commission review and a public hearing process. Through the CUP process, the city retains the ability to evaluate site-specific operational characteristics, compatibility with surrounding development, and potential impacts on adjacent properties on a case-by-case basis. As such, staff finds that the additional blanket prohibition exceeds what's necessary to ensure compatibility with surrounding land uses and denies the applicant the opportunity to propose such uses as other similar landowners with industrial zoning would be allowed to do. So with that, staff recommends the following conditions of record to council, with item five added to reflect the additional prohibited items that the applicant has agreed upon, as highlighted below. So with that, that concludes my presentation. Happy to answer any questions that council may have. Okay, thank you, Jacqueline. Any questions, comments?

Sean.

What was the intention of the 600 foot setback by the Planning and Zoning Commission? Why did they extend that from 200 to 600?

They just felt that there should be additional buffers and uses. Additional buffer from that neighborhood? With Western Manor being to the east of the site.

What's the city's typical setback on a?

75 feet from residential development.

So they went from 75 to 200, then to 600? Yes. Do you know how many acres that pulls out of the, that they can't develop or that they can't utilize? They can utilize it, but they can't use it for I-2, right?

Correct, yeah. In the applicant's presentation, she goes into a little more detail on that, but it's basically the parcel that's a long burrow, so it's about 13 or 14 acres. 13 or 14 acres.

Okay.

And just as clarification, there are still IT uses that they could do there. They just removed the Planning and Zoning Commission just effectively removed about 21 conditional permitted uses and or conditional uses, as well as two permitted uses that otherwise would be allowed in similarly situated properties. right okay so it would still have to be a conditional use permit for for those things that they what were the two that they allowed or that they well they allowed i think they allowed four and and and jacqueline can show that um you know of the of the ones that are in there um but they allowed i think automobile uh repair automobile washing um daycare centers and there was one more uh wireless yeah wireless telecommunication but the other 21 that are listed would you know would just have that 600 foot buffer, which staff's recommendation was to have a 200 foot buffer from any thing there. And understanding that any conditional use permit still requires that you follow the conditional use permit process. So my belief of kind of staff's position here is that By just banning certain uses in an area, you've essentially skirted the conditional use process without going through and allowing the applicant to try to show you how they can buffer it and how it can be made safe. And generally, planning and zoning commissions authority and charge under the code is to hear those subject to those standards and of course make recommendations at that point as to how it can best be made compatible or in certain cases even decide to to say we don't think it can be made compatible subject to appeal rights to the council right so it's not guaranteed you know if they go through conditional use correct now is that because of the housing that's across barriers there

Because there's really a vacant lot there right off the corner. I think that's where you're talking about.

Look, I think it's speculation at this point because I don't think there was a big record there. I think planning and zoning can certainly speak for itself. It is certainly what their recommendation was. Again, as Jacqueline said, I think the city, the staff's position is – you have if you're talking about trying to protect uses along burris road which would make some sense right to say it's a big corridor um but beginning at mcmurray all the way to courtson is all i2 along burris road with no such restrictions right south of gila bend from gila bend all the way to almost selma where the city limits end you have i2 with no restrictions and i think That's what staff's original position was, and that's why staff is taking a position that is different than that of taking by P&Z, which normally we don't do. But in this case, we thought that staff still felt that.

Did staff recommend the 200-foot setback, or did staff come in at the 75 and then the applicant move it to two? Or how did that work out?

No, staff recommended the 200, and the applicant was okay with that.

Okay. They were okay with that. Okay.

Any other questions?

Is the developer appealing that? Are they resisting the 600 foot, or are they okay with that?

Yeah, they weren't. I mean, the applicant's here to speak on that. They can add a little more language detail on that, but they weren't amenable to that. They were opposed to the additional stipulations.

And I think we were going to hear from the applicant, right? If you would like to come up now, that would be great. There might be some more questions, but if you can give us your name, please. Address.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. I'm Jessica Sirkissian, representing the owner here. Thank you. I always figure out which way I'm pointing this thing. But yeah, I'll go into discussion about the hearing. They had the meeting minutes from that as well. But I'll just go through the project, and then we can get into the additional stipulations. And as Jacqueline mentioned, we were agreeable to the original conditions suggested at the Planning and Zoning Commission. And then we can discuss what happened at the end. So again, this site, which Jacqueline already mentioned, it is the general plan amendment as well as the rezone tied to it. Which way am I pointing? where is it down okay there we go so here's the site as you can see um surrounded um by a lot of vacant area but it's also a lot of that area you'll see on the zoning is zoned industrial so we are doing the comprehensive plan amendment the reason request is to i2 on the six little over 68 acres to indus develop industrial uses similar to the surrounding area It is in an opportunity zone designated in the general plan. Here you can see with the industrial manufacturing industry overlay as well. So it is an area that is slated for this kind of development. The area continues to draw interest. A lot of partners with companies that are in the area and regionally and nationally are coming to this area. It was part of the general plan process that was sought out that when you guys did your economic development studies that employment was a high desire for this area. So currently you can see that you have the neighborhood's land use category here, and it is surrounded by the manufacturing industry. The area has kind of developed around this area, and you can see with the Western Manor right there, and I'll show you exactly what happened in more detail. So previously in 2006, there were some PADs in this area. You know, when things were going crazy, everything was just going through, there were a lot of master plan PADs scheduled for this area. And so I wanted to highlight that you can see Western Manor there on the east side and the residential zones PADs, which have not developed since 2006. Acacia Farms, you can see to the south. and Fiore in red, the one above also circled in red, they all have been rezoned already to industrial, and Westfield Park still remains undeveloped, which is just north of it, but it also has not developed. and it has not received any interest in developing as residential as such. And so it's anticipated that the property owner is probably looking for something future, but it's a long-term property owner. So we envision that will probably also go industrial. And this area is just completely transformed to an industrial. And you can see the original PAD from 2006, where you can see the residential area in there. But yeah, everything around here has kind of seen, which you'll see with the zoning. And so with the Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Jacqueline, thank you, General Plan, she went through the goals and its development going economically directly for this area, supporting areas which were re-zoned directly across the street on the south side. So it's definitely So the current zoning you can see here, you can see those two residential areas that are now zoned actually industrial to the south and then skip over to the north. This area is definitely developing and so we're looking to go into the I-2 category. So again, we're agreeing with the city's stipulations. to ensure architectural diversity along Gila Bend Highway, screening of outdoor from adjacent properties is required, not allowing utilization of explosives or volatile products. And we also agree to the 200 foot building setback from residential zones. We also agree to all the other requirements that the city has in place for the site plan process and going through the process, we have no issues with any of those requirements. So that's where we were when we came to the commission. We've had public input. As she mentioned, I received a call as well from a neighbor in Western Manor asking questions. We have signs posted, they've been posted since April 8th. And we have received no opposition, no letters of opposition, no calls of opposition to myself or to staff. No emails against or for the project. So people are aware of it, it's been out there, but we don't have anyone that we were aware of until at the commission that had comments. So we provided modified conditions of record for number of step 5 which the Planning Commission added So at that hearing we actually were going through this same process and there was a motion and a second to accept staff recommendation conditions as provided a full motion in second and then before it was voted on A single commissioner said, I would like to add something. And so we had gone through a discussion and it was something that was just kind of a last minute ad. Um, and it was just, the discussion was, what do you think? Yeah, sure. That sounds fine. Um, but we kind of were like, what's just happening. this takes out almost 10 acres of our property. And so we came back, understanding their concerns, because again, as you mentioned, it's a stipulation, a speculative about what Western Manor needs or wants or what the 200 feet would look like. So we came back and said, oh, obviously there's some uses in the industrial I-2, which are never going to happen here, aren't compatible. So we added these stipulations to five to completely revise it to emulate those uses that we all know we don't need a sewer treatment plant, railroad switching yard, racetrack, airport, heliports, excavation. you know homeless facilities or charity dining facilities in this location was their concern and so we said yeah sure take those out so that would be the revision that we suggest rather than taking a blanket to all those 20 some odd uses which have to go through the public hearing process anyway when you look at the uses that would be remaining that they're suggesting it's very much a commercial it takes the industrial to commercial type use So here the 600 feet came from squaring it off. It was an ambiguous number. It's not a number used in planning. It's not used in anything. You know, the 75 feet, typically you get 100 foot setback when you go next to residential from industrial. We agreed to the 200. And then the 600 feet is just exactly what that distance is. that road to the end of that to just square it so that's where that came from other than that there was no explanation of where it was just a square and so that was their thought process that is a very large square takes a lot of the property out opportunities for things to happen across or buildings to go across the line and have parking there are just different things and so for that reason we just don't feel that that's appropriate And then here you can see like here's these actual site So here's the 75 feet is what the original code is requiring We have gone to 200 and then they're asking the one was asking for 600 which it seemed like Commission just kind of went along with and so that that's kind of just a description of what that does to the site and And it makes that whole piece commercial, which is actually what the southern piece actually is currently. And so that's what we were talking about. So it's staff, the code versus staff versus commission. And we are fine with the 200. There's going to be other kind of setbacks, screening, landscaping, parking, all kinds of things going on on there that it'll continue to buffer even more. And so with that, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. But yeah, we don't feel that these additional stipulations are required based on the fact that it's a public hearing process to go through these. They will have the opportunity to come and see it and dissect it. And at that time, there would be a site plan, as it was mentioned, which will show you a lot more detail. You'll have more information on the users, more requirements at that time to show if there's any materials or what's going on. but right now it's just um all speculative of what could go in we still have to come through the process for site planning and everything else so we that's with respect we just request that you use the modification that we provided um and staff i believe is supportive of that of that as well

Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Let's see. Any question for the applicant here? No. No. Oh, go ahead.

I was just going to ask, was there any residents of Western Manor that did show up to planning and zoning and it was opposition? It was really pushing for that 600 feet?

No, as mentioned, nobody showed up for the hearings, but also, unless, I don't know if someone's here, but that one call was from a neighbor in Western Manor just asking what was going on, and I guess both of us explained what was going on, and they had no further comments or questions. But yeah, that was, because they didn't follow up with that. I give them Jacqueline's number, and so they called her to verify, because I'm always like, check with staff, make sure I'm not, you know. But yeah, there was nothing since then.

No, thank you. My question is, you know, I understand, you know, the setback. Yeah, kind of a unique number that they came up with there, but there was also questions on data center, and I believe that they asked to have it as a prohibited use, but then I know staff is recommending and you to keep it in. And I think what's important here is obviously when you see a neighborhood right there, that is concerning if you're gonna put a data center right there on the corner with 200 feet. We all know the controversy and everything with data centers, but I believe there is a right place for data centers. And so with this, I know, I think you and I have talked and talked to others about the thing is by keeping data centers as a possible use, we have to remember that there is a conditional use permit process that has to go through. that they would have to go through, so to show that this is, they're bringing in all the resources, whether it's water, power, noise, all of that comes into play with a conditional use permit. And that's why we, as a council, decided to put that on applications in a I-2 zone, that's correct, to put the conditional use. So I wanted to see if Larry can, if you can just kind of remind us and the public what that means, because I know the data center thing is gonna come up, and so I just wanted to clarify why that you are still recommending that it's okay to keep it as use, because we are gonna put in that conditional use process.

Madam Mayor, members of the council, a couple of things to remember on this particular case is that number one, it is a hard zone to I2. It's not, I know the mayor and council has heard other planned area development plans and various developers have taken different positions on whether or not to allow it as a not allowed within the PAD. In this particular case, the applicant is electing to maintain that particular land use, but to your point, Mayor, the conditional use permit would be required in an I-2 zone for a data center use, among many other uses that are currently included within that land use, within that zoning district. I think the important thing for our community to know is that when council elected to go down the conditional use permit process, in uh particularly for a data center and probably much like other uses you're looking for various conditions to ensure that it's going to there's going to be some compatibility what we've heard at this point as a staff on these items are are topics such as water power and noise and you know just to name a few that ultimately The applicant would have to actually resolve those matters, perhaps even set thresholds as part of the conditions that would come through. Obviously, the Planning and Zoning Commission would hear conditional use permits. Mayor and Council would serve in an appeal capacity if one was denied. Essentially, the idea is that you're adding conditions that will ensure that the development is going to be compatible with the neighboring areas at that point in time.

So part of that is if we had to add additional buffer, a buffer at that time, that could also be, when you talk about compatibility, and if that even came, and do you feel, is that something you're looking at? Is that why you didn't want to take that, or you wanted to keep that in, is that...

The site is not large enough for a data center, as is it would not be possible. The reason we wanted to keep it in is that the technology of it has changed so drastically over the last just even 10 years. We don't know what manufacturers may ask for, if it's a smaller platform, if it's something part. We don't know what it looks like. So we didn't want to take away something that could work maybe on the western side or maybe a small platform within its own building for whatever company, because you're getting some pretty intense big companies here that might want something on site. And so we just wanted the ability to have If something ever does come in the future that would work on the site, if that's a deal, if they want that part of their company to be at their site, that's an option. But as is, the site is too small, and it's not going to fit for. So that's not what we're looking for right now. That's not who we're talking to at all. But that was the concern, is that we don't, this technology changes so quickly, we don't know what it will look like in 10 years. Yeah.

Thank you. Okay. Any other questions, comments?

No?

Okay, so we have a resolution first. Resolution number, please.

Do we want to what?

Adjust this.

You still have a public hearing that you want to conduct first, and then we can talk about the items.

Okay, guys, so you're right. Public hearing. Is there anyone that would like to come up and speak? I'll go ahead and open the public hearing. Okay, looks like no one would like to. I'll go ahead and close the public hearing. Anything else from the council?

Yeah, I'd like to make those adjustments back to 200 feet and remove those restrictions on the data centers and give the applicant kind of what she's asking.

So when we get to the ordinance, the ordinance that staff has drafted was the staff recommendation. Okay. So it has, as modified by the applicant, So those additional uses that the applicant said that they would prohibit, the airport, the heliport, thing of those nature, are included in the ordinance as presented. Okay.

Okay. It is as presented. So you don't have to amend it.

So the additional requirements that were added by P&Z, they're available if we want to amend the ordinance, but the ordinance as drafted is for the staff recommendation as modified by the applicant. Got it.

Okay. Yeah, thank you for that clarification. So we'll go ahead and start with the resolution number, please.

Resolution number 5, 2, 7, 3, 0.4, 4, the resolution of the Council of the city of Casa Grande, Arizona amending the city of Casa Grande 2030 general plan adopted by resolution number 5, 2, 7, 3, by amending the land use designation from neighborhoods to manufacturing and industry and property generally located West of the Northwest corner of Hilla Bend highway and Burris road Casa Grande, Arizona.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I move to approve resolution number 5273.44 as presented.

Second.

There's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? If we can get a roll call vote.

Council Member Dugan?

Yes.

Council Member Edwards? Yes. Council Member Hiddleston?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tempidale? Yes. Mayor Fitzgibbons. Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. Okay, now for the ordinance.

Okay, ordinance number 1178.476, an ordinance of the Council of the City of Casa Grande, Arizona, amending zoning ordinance 1178 and its subsequent amendments by changing the zoning from planned area development, PAD, to general industrial I-2 on property generally located near the northwest corner of Hilla Bend Highway and Burris Road, Casa Grande, Arizona.

Mayor Fitzgibbons, I'll move to approve ordinance number 1178.476. Second.

Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Adriana, if we can get a roll call vote.

Council Member Dugan?

Yes.

Council Member Edwards? Yes. Council Member Hiddleston? Yes. Mayor Pro Tempe Dillon?

Yes.

Mayor Fitzgibbons? Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. Okay, thank you. And we'll go ahead, since we have an executive session, we'll start with reports. First of all, thank you for the Girl Scouts for staying. I appreciate you guys staying for this exciting meeting, right? I'm sure you learned a lot, but we appreciate it. Thank you to the parents again. So we're going to go. We'll go ahead and start with reports. And so how about we start with you, Anthony? No reports. No reports. No reports. Okay. All right.

No reports other than I am looking forward to 4th of July celebrations, celebrating 250 years as a wonderful country, and just looking forward to that. So I'm looking forward to seeing people there. I'll be there before the fireworks.

Okay, thank you. You'll be there too, Bob, right? I don't know. Okay, any report?

No report.

Okay.

uh my only report is that animal care facility when i was out there just want to acknowledge you know that the community those animals are very hot down there they if you guys got time go down adopt them hopefully it draws a little bit of attention hadn't having it in the papers and stuff that that those animals are in need down there. And they definitely need good homes to go to. So that's my only report is it is warm. They showed me the temperature in that room. It was 91 degrees in there. And that was with the swamp coolers running and all that stuff.

Wow. OK, good. They can't get that air conditioning soon enough.

No, I can't get it soon enough.

Thank you, and happy birthday. We heard you had a big birthday. Yeah, birthday.

Flag day, yeah.

Okay. And yes, you know, community services, I know some of them are here. Fourth of July, big event coming up. For those of you that want to attend, it's Saturday, July 4th at Paul Mason Sports Complex. And it's... 7 to 10 p.m with all kinds of performances activities food and the fireworks start at 9 p.m so um again thank you to all of our community services and please for those of you that are doing you know lighting up fireworks at home remember the animals remember the animals we do get a lot of complaints and on fourth of july with all the fireworks that are going off and um you know the concern you know what happens with our um animals at home so Everyone be safe there. You know, let's see. We talked about this last time that there are several cooling stations that are going to be around town. Your sister was so nice. She works for Seeds of Hope, and so she put flyers together for us that shows all the different cooling stations that are in town. It's going to be on our website. And then we are going to be offering, after our cooling station from 630, 10 p.m. at the Len Cola Recreation Center we've been working with our local churches and nonprofits to help provide snacks and things like that and volunteer at the Len Cola Center so this is going to start July 1st if not sooner might be even a little sooner so we're trying we're trying Barbara to get get some relief out there. So if anyone has any questions, please contact us or, and then the information is on the website. I'll make sure I give you guys those. Let's see, this Friday, I'm sorry, June, juneteenth yeah it's actually this friday from four to seven p.m at the recreation center they're celebrating juneteenth there's gonna be lots of activity culture um books art station games so if anyone would love would love to come join it's part of the arts and culture commission and some of our local community volunteers. It's gonna be a great celebration at the recreation center, so please join us. July 6th, the meeting is canceled, so there will not be a July 6th city council meeting. Our next meeting will be July 20th. Again, to remind everyone, the city has a new billing system. You probably received the information in the mail. That starts... Let's see, they're not processing business transactions, and they're going to start that June 29th through July 10th, but there will be staff available to assist people if they have any questions on that whole onboarding piece. Let's see. You guys probably saw that the governor did pass and the legislature did pass a budget. So after, let's see. a total of 2,100 legislative measures. 217 bills were passed to date. The governor signed 125 and vetoed 63. So it's been a nice long legislative session. And the bipartisan budget results in about $18.3 billion for the fiscal year 2027. Obviously, there's a lot of, we've all been getting updated on many of those bills. The ones that we were happy to see did not pass and that we were following, you guys might remember, is Senate Bill 1431. That's the one that prohibits municipalities from imposing design requirements for single-family homes. And the other one, HCR 2-2016, was where they were proposing a moratorium on tax and fee increases. So we were happy to see that those did not move forward this year. But again, if you want to update, I know we've been getting updates on all the different bills passed, but That's good that that's done. The groundbreaking, thank you to all of our staff that has been working with Gorman and Company. Several of us were on the council back in 2019 where we were working to revitalize the downtown. And so it's just so nice to see this project come to life with the groundbreaking. So we're excited to see this multifamily project. For those of you that weren't able to come, If you go across the tracks there on Main Street, you're going to see there's a lot of activity already going on over there. So that was great. And then today I went to Casa Palomino Ribbon Cutting. And, yes, another Mexican food restaurant. That was the thing. And I thought they were so clever when they put their advertisement when they were coming to Casperan. Because, of course, we hear another Mexican food restaurant. And I loved how they said, yes, it is. And it was delicious and delicious. You know, so glad to see them bringing back activity to that restaurant there right there on Florence Boulevard and Pinnell. So great food and great restaurant. So with that, I'll go ahead and take a motion to go into executive session. So move.

Second.

Okay. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Thank you, everyone, for coming. Yeah, they were so cute. It was the daughters, and they were like.