City Council - Regular Meeting

Is that is that turned on?

Oh, this isn't okay. You're thinking about making those things again, huh? Those things

all

anytime. Good evening. Good evening everyone. Thank you for being here. We're going to go ahead and start um call the meeting the study session to order. And the um one and only agenda item is the city manager's office. So we'll start with you Larry.

Yes. Uh Mayor Fitzgiven, members of the council, uh certainly appreciate the opportunity to present uh on the topic of our strategic plan. Uh and so tonight we ultimately will be presenting the work that we have concluded to this point having discussion and ultimately receiving any feedback from the mayor and council. But I thought I would give a bit of a history uh to for everyone that may be watching so they understand what brought us to this point this evening. And I would start by uh giving a bit of an overview that eight years ago the uh mayor and council at that time met and developed a strategic planning document for the organization with a really what I would consider to be a 5 to 8year uh view uh outward view but our strategic planning uh efforts ultimately led to us having an annual revision of that an annual uh review of that and about every two years we actually went through a revision process. But when we had three new council members come on to the council and obviously a new mayor, the thought was that we would uh essentially spend some time educating the council on the organization, which we did for a number of months and uh and then inter and then have a budget retreat where the council could establish a new document. And so uh staff selected a consultant and the mayor and council met in a strategic planning retreat. Uh Jod was there for at least a portion of that. So she got an opportunity to to understand the format that we were uh we were going to be striving for. But we did hire uh Lance Strategies, Nicole Lance, to come in and facilitate this two-day session where the mayor and council work collectively with the executive leadership team to establish uh what what in essence will be a new strategic plan for the upcoming years. And we

started with the selection of key focus areas. Uh and those key focus areas uh that were established were infrastructure and expansion, public safety, economic vital uh vitality, good governance and community enhancement. uh from this particular point, we actually established a definition for each of these focus areas and I'm not going to read every one of these, but they will they are obviously available in the council packet and uh and and ultimately can be reviewed uh by our residents to have an understanding of the definition. But I did want to stop at this particular slide this evening and just uh reverify with the mayor and council. I know that when we left the retreat that day that everybody seemed to be very very comfortable with the key focus areas and the definitions. We have staff has not made any changes on in this particular area to uh to these items. And so um ultimately I'd like to just get any feedback that council may have as we're moving this through a working draft document into a final document. Any questions or comments there?

Oh, sorry. Oh, okay. Any questions, comments? Go ahead.

I I would just say, um, thank you, uh, Larry and also to the staff for putting this on for us to help us. Um, I learned a lot. Um, and I have to make mention of this individual who's in the room. Um, I sit on the area with Kevin and I learned a lot in regards to streets and lights, timing and things like that, which was very key. Um, so I got a better understanding. So, I really do appreciate you all taking the time out and and helping us and educating us in regards to uh coming up with a game plan for our city uh with including uh all of uh the council members, the mayor. So, thank you.

Go ahead. when you look at it, it looks uh pretty brief and simple, which I think was the point. It took, so everyone know it took a long time to get down to these uh key key points, but I like it because it's easy for us to go back to, easy to reference, and then it goes into more detail as you as you go down, which I'm sure you're going to after this, but um I know it looks like not a whole lot to begin with, but it started out with a whole lot. And it the idea was to boil it down to these main ideas so that we can focus on you know focus areas and then relate all of our uh you know all of our positions all of our uh focusers. So yeah objective to this. Yeah.

Good point. Any other comments, questions? Okay.

Perfect. Well, uh, the council members certainly did, uh, set the stage for the next component of the dialogue. And to give everyone a context, a couple of the areas that I thought uh or reasons that I that I felt very comfortable with the focus areas, and again, these are the 30,000 elevation foot uh um items elements that we are that that we will be allocating resources to. But what I found unique about these as we went through this is it really did align very nicely with the community survey that we had conducted back in February where public safety uh uh infrastructure and quality of life were key elements of that and I and certainly those themes uh you will find throughout uh the document and uh and and ultimately be you'll begin to I I hope that citizens can begin to see the link through the objectives and ultimately the action items that will will transpire. So, Stephen, if you want to go down to the next uh page. Uh and and Mayor Pro Tim Herman is absolutely right. It we spent we you really begin to spend a fair amount of time focused on the ob on establishing the objectives. And I hope that as we go through these um uh everyone understands the amount of time and consideration that we're given. Obviously, you can't have a million objectives. you really try to have anywhere between four or five objectives for each category. However, in some of these areas, for example, infrastructure are very first, it's very difficult because it's such a broad category. And so, uh, but and and if I can make sure that the mayor and council is aware that that we staff has made a a few additions or amendments to these objectives. And in fact, tonight I'm going to be asking council to consider uh some uh potential of essentially selecting one particular objective over another. But I thought I

would go through these objectives as well uh for each for each uh focus area. Uh the objectives for infrastructure and expansion is to identify and improve four roadway uh intersections per year to a pass level of service. uh again attempting to improve the efficiency in our roadway infrastructure, increasing roadway lane mile capacity by adding two additional lane miles per year. You begin to see that the the goal is to ex have expansion within our roadway infrastructure and increase pavement conditions index by 3% over a 5-year period. All three of those uh the very the three first objectives that were established and council member Edwards spoke about the group that he was in. this was the group that he was in and there was a fair amount of dialogue that transpired on that front but you can see the heavy emphasis on transportation and um and you can and and ultimately I think it's important to note that as we established our objectives we were looking for objectives that that can be measured where we can come with data as we as we asked council to make decisions and prioritize various projects. I think all three of these ideally are situated to allow that. Uh moving on to the wastewater uh uh enterprise or infrastructure. Reduce the H2S levels in our sewer mains. Increase wastewater collection infrastructure by adding 5% of new capacity annually. Um so you'll see the the next two were actually focused on wastewater. The next one is focused on parks and recreation. Again, infrastructure is a very broad category. So ultimately developing or improving one acre of new or existing park and recreation opportunities annually and then we move into government facilities identify [clears throat] and improve or expand 5% of governmental buildings and

facility space annually and u and then the the last two are two that I have added that staff has added for your feedback on particularly the first the first uh seven were uh were established during the budget or during the strategic planning retreat, but it was there were there were some very clear messages that were delivered to us during that retreat and one of those happens to happened to be the timing of getting projects finalized uh and on a timely manner and within budget and so I thought that would be a good objective to begin to measure that so that we can actually report on that. So deliver 90% of the capital improvement projects on schedule and within 5% of what was budgeted is the proposed new addition to this list. And the last one is ensure that constituents are informed about the scope, timelines, and impacts of infrastructure projects. And I think it's important if I can before we get in into specific discussion about those last two. Uh the it was the second element that was very clear to me is that community engagement is something that we need to continue to improve. I think we've made some very strong strides the last two years in that particular in those particular fronts, but additional work needs to be done. And so you'll find that there is some level of communication or uh community engagement components that are that are listed as objectives in each of these and with a heavy emphasis on good governance. I know that's ultimately where we ended up landing uh uh on on objectives that would would related to communication and community engagement. And so again, I'll pause there, but get ask for any feedback if you're comfortable with adding those last two objectives or if that is something that you would prefer that we remove.

Questions, comments? I just say I I like the two new added ones. You know, number nine could actually kind of fit in either one, right? Um I definitely like number eight. Um I think I've said that before. So um so no, I I I appreciate you putting those in. I agree. I was going to agree uh as well. I like them both and they're they're both uh could be universal to to all um areas and departments. So they're they're good in here or elsewhere. Okay,

Bob stole mine, but that's perfect. All departments, but the one thing about the number nine I like is we've had some projects lately and we've got some coming up. I think it'd be good to say this project is starting on this day and we are anticipating to finish on this day because people say it's taking forever, you know, right? But no, that's that's how long the projects are going to take, you know, so that we know what what the anticipated timeline is of them. And I think we can do that pretty easily. So, I'm really happy to see that

to give the mayor and council a little bit of insight on on that particular topic. And I and and obviously again that was clear clearly communicated during the retreat. uh is we are uh establishing a community engagement plan that that talks specifically about the approach to uh setting timelines, articulating those timelines uh with clear expectations and ultimately reporting at the end. I'm not we we over the over the course of the last several years, I think the council and staff can certainly agree that we've gotten a lot of projects completed and they come up when the council considers them. But I don't know that we celebrate the completion of those as well as we we should we should be doing. So again, you'll begin to see an additional effort being placed in in that particular category.

And I'm in agreement as well with both eight and nine. And as has been stated already, um they work hand in hand with a lot of things that we do. And I know we had um a meeting before where we talked about um having someone that's over that timeline and making sure our supervisors I think talked about in regards to make sure they stay on top of that timeline and them finishing like they say they are going to finish and also um the impacts of all that the cost of it and that we all are a breast to that and so I'm going to agree with both of them as well. Yeah, I also agree with everybody. I mean I There's not that much much else I can say. I'm going last. So, [laughter]

well, and I just wanted to point out that of course I was happy to see that you did that because you you really did listen to all of us. I mean, you can see we're all in agreement because I these are messages that have been coming across. You know, people have been asking us about this information over and over and over and over. So, it's just going to help us answer those questions when we get it um you know, those those um brought to us. So um so I think all and you know for the staff that's here it's not that Larry just put these in. It's just I think all of us individually have been stressing the importance of these you know these particular um you know um objectives here. So so no I think it's great. Thank you.

Perfect. All right, Stephen, if you'll go into public safety. And I think you'll see with public safety that um the objectives are are fairly close to what the mayor and council had established that day. They're a little differently positioned into two particular elements that I felt were themes, for a lack of better words, that were established as we were setting these objectives. And so, but because you have both both police and fire in public safety, I thought it would be wise to to articulate those in a category. So, we ultimately ended up establishing emergency response efficiency, which I know is something that's very important from an operational perspective. But again, one of the common themes and messaging that we heard during the retreat was the community engagement and trust, right? Building that trust within within the community. Um and so uh within those two categories, you'll see that decrease average response times for the 90th percentile of priority fire calls by 5% in 5 years. And u ultimately that one was slightly rewritten to the 90th percentile simply because when we uh do our benchmarking against other cities primarily in the valley that is exactly the objective that they're measuring against. So, I thought it would be wise for us to establish something similar and attempt to account for so that we can compare the improvements that we're making to other cities in in in Panau County that participate as well as the valley. Um the next item is decrease the average response times on priority calls for police by 5% within five years. Uh and then finally uh which is tied to our ambulance operation achieve and maintain the ADHA ADHS that's the Arizona Department of Health Services standard response time for medical calls annually and essentially I know the council

talked a little bit about this during the retreat but essentially ADA adhs and wanted to uh essentially measure measure against that and report on that annually to our community and to the council. Any questions on any preference? Is is the council okay with the framing of the um objectives in these two categories or themes and are you okay with the objective specifically for response efficiencies? Yes. Yes. Okay.

Yes. Uh moving on to community engagement and trust. Uh annually achieve and maintain appropriate staffing levels relative to community needs. Increase uh community involvement and transparency by hosting at least three more community involved events andor initiatives a year for 5 years. And I think that the initiative component is the key element there. Uh obviously both of our departments participate in a lot of community type events, but it I I felt like this particular uh objective was more focused on programming or initiatives such as coffee with the cop, perhaps our bike patrols and the like. But this gives us uh it really allows the the staff to point towards an objective when they are proposing new programming or looking for the allocation of resources. So any any comments on on that particular category? question comment. Okay.

Okay.

All right. Then we'll move on to um economic vitality. And uh you'll find that uh in economic vitality the measurement components become a little bit more difficult to achieve. [laughter] It's not it's going to be tough to capture data. Uh but ultimately what what we landed on is uh increased the small business participation from 40 to 60 businesses at city sponsored events. Uh at city sponsored events it was a a slight modification from what we created at the retreat simply because it it allows us to better monitor and understand that data. So it's our business roundts, it's our uh various events that we have for small business for industrial and industrial and the like around the around the community. Uh the next item which you'll have your first opportunity to make a decision on or at least give me direction on tonight. Thank you Brett. Item number two uh was develop the the original objective was increase the number of direct hires from Cassagrand programs from blank to blank in five years. And ultimately what we were attempting to do with that particular objective is to encourage uh our local businesses, our local industries to hire our local graduates from Cassandr. uh as we began to really try to dissect that, we felt that it may be very difficult for us to capture the data and to understand whether or not these industries or these employers were hiring Cas graduates. And so the option that we've put together for council to uh evaluate tonight is develop a program to encourage business businesses to hire local high school graduates. So it becomes more program based than it does really a tracking tool, if you will. So, um, any any preference on that from the

council's perspective? I I think it it attempts to achieve the same outcome, right? But ultimately, it it it it in my mind, it looks a lot like the internship program that we built a couple of years ago for the city, uh, where it becomes more of a program base and then we encourage people to share data with us that we can ultimately u articulate some of the success stories that we've had. That good. Go ahead, Matt. Uh, [clears throat] real quick, thanks for uh getting the small businesses in here, which I know is a big thing for some of us. Um, also maybe partner with the chamber on that. Yes. You know, to help uh get that that objective moved along and to help measure maybe the Yes.

You know, even host an event or something or some type of hiring, which you guys already we already do. But um I like Yeah. Just so we can't say measured if we really can't measure it. Yeah. Right. Sure. Bob, is is it still going to be pretty hard to capture the end result? How how many are we talking about out there?

Yeah, I think it's I uh Council Member Huddleston, I I think it's going to be very difficult for us to have data that we can rely on to make management decisions, I guess, is how I would frame that. But ultimately, um, the thought about moving to a program base, it becomes more about articulating success stories from people that ultimately are willing to share the the hard data versus saying we're trying to understand what everybody is doing in the community. I was I was going to say it doesn't have to go in here, but but maybe include a uh survey tool as part of that program so that

we get we get somewhat of a report for this year and then next year we get a similar report from the survey. Sure. Also, um, we're looking at measurables, trying to figure out measurables, and I know the high schools, cuz we're talking about the high school students, too, and trying to find figure out clubs like DECA, they they help

get those students. And yeah, they help get the students within those jobs. And if we can get some of that information from those different programs at our high schools, that would also help us, I guess, with measurables, too, because I know DECA was big for me with Miss Jew and getting job placements. I worked at all the grocery stores in town. Um, and so, but anyways, they have that information that you can get from the schools as well. And if we had someone ma kind of managing it and they can do the outreach to the different companies even though a lot of companies everything's online and they might be hired at their national headquarters and you know so how can they track you know but but you know if someone's managing the program they can

try to come up with something or reach out to local businesses. So, okay. Okay. No, it's definitely better than I mean, it's probably going to be a little little bit easier to track than the Well, and I and and a couple of the comments that have been made tonight are certainly action items that the council will begin to see as part of the next uh identification of of the document. And I think you'll you'll see that that's exactly the the the path that we're planning on going down. Mhm.

Um the next couple is increase efforts to bring the high uh the number of highquality slpayer jobs above the median household income by a thousand in the next 5 years. So essentially that is uh uh just tracking again we are asking some of these employers for data. But but we're we're going to measure that against the median household income versus a fixed rate like we in the retreat we had picked $65,000 as the threshold. So we we change it to the median household income. That is that is a specific measurement that other entities are using. Uh evaluate processes to make uh it easier to do business in Kasa Grande. Again, something that's not necessarily measurable, but certainly something that we can do survey work on to to evaluate that and expand uh housing stock by adding new and diverse dwelling options. And I think it's important to note that we've I there was a fair amount of dialogue. Um this to me is more focused on ensuring that we are understanding our housing market, our housing diversity. Certainly not in focused on any one particular housing type, but some of the ideas that have been expressed is uh town houses and condos and the like. So, I think you'll see some some uh specific uh um action items focused on those items. Any comments or questions on economic vitality? If not, we'll move on to good governance, which is a new uh focus area. Something that is that that is really much different than we had in our last strategic plan. Uh but as as far as good governance governance is concerned, we really focused on uh building relationships with our residents. Uh our financial wherewithal and uh and our communication. So you'll I'll just go through these very quickly. Build trust and relationship. Increase participation and strengthen social cohesion through

communications with constituents. You see the theme that I talked about a minute ago. Increase meaningful community participation in the governance process. uh increase legislative advocacy for Caster Grand. I know that was a topic that was well discussed by the elected body. [clears throat] Ensure sustainable financial management and budgeting. Enhance and expand service delivery through data-driven decision-making and innovation and develop and retain highquality workforce. So again, somewhat of a broad category that covers a number, but I think that um that the work that was done, we did add uh enhance and expand service delivery through data-driven decision-making and innovation. Uh and and really the intent behind that is that we've had some action items where we are measuring uh the the performance of various programs and services we provide many times against the private industry. And I thought that that better captured the objective and then we can create new action items around that. Any thoughts on good governance?

Another question.

And our final is community enhancement which is uh really there there was a theme about building uh uh valued education and strong families into our community and really instilling civic pride. And uh and so you'll see that there are some specific um objectives that are that focus on that as well as the beautifification of our community. Uh increase resident participation in city sponsored events and programs by 10% within 5 years. Again, we've seen good turnout to a number of our events lately, but we we want to expand that. increase the percentages of citizens who feel adequately informed and educated about city issues by 10% in in five years. Again, this is the communication link that likely the data will have to be captured by survey. Increase awareness of organizational programs and services by 10%. Uh same applies there. expand community activities and events by 5% over five years and increase civic pride by implementing uh implementing a minimum of three separate community beautifification initiatives annually. So those are going to be specific initiatives that we likely will be budgeting for that we can articulate uh at the at at the beginning or during our budget process and allocate resources to. So,

um I don't if you have specific questions on this particular uh focus area certainly happy to entertain those tonight. I do want everybody to know that really the the meat comes at the next step which is the action items uh that really focus on how we are going to allocate our our um our expenditures in our in our budget process. staff did work that afternoon uh collectively to develop several and uh I've added a few more to that. And I've also been expanding um some [clears throat] of the action items to ultimately incorporate many of the initiatives that we've been working on this these last couple of years. I think it's important for council to see that. I I um but I wanted to secure these items this evening um so that we can finalize [snorts] that action item, at least the draft version of that, get that next document out to the council for your review and consideration. And ultimately, I envision that we can be asking council to adopt the this particular document as completed some either the second meeting in December or the first meeting in January if council's comfortable with that. But there there will be a lot more reading on the action items. I can tell you that. Uh it it is going to be somewhat focused on fiscal year 27, our next budget year, but we are beginning to add items that might be in future years, two or three years out and and we'll ultimately come back and put timelines together on that uh once we get once we get to the next step. But wanted an opportunity to get this back to the council to make sure you knew that we're advancing it and I'll pause for any other questions.

Questions? Any more comments? No. Okay. All right. Well, thank you and and again, thank you to the council members for taking the time. Um, you know, this strategic plan is definitely different. I mean, I think there's, you know, a lot of changes than our previous one. Um, but, um, and and to all the staff, everyone that's here tonight, I hope you see the importance of it and how it's going to help us as we move forward in in a, you know, direction or organized in an organized manner. So, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Yes, ma'am. Okay. So, I guess we'll go ahead and close the um study session. And do you want to pause? Does anyone need to I guess we have one minute, two minutes. Does anyone have to go to the restrooms? Do you want to wait five minutes? Are you okay? Okay, we'll just pause for a couple minutes then, Larry. Okay. And start the regular meeting. [music]

[music] [music]

I can't go that way.

Okay. Is everyone ready? Everyone, we're going to go ahead and call this meeting to order and we'll go ahead and start with the invocation. I believe we have Deacon Brian Walsh. Welcome, Deacon. And that will be followed by the um pledge of allegiance by Mayor Prom Herman, if you're willing to stand. Willing and able, please stand. Thank you, Mayor Frisk Gibbons, city council members, and all present here. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, as we gather today in this assembly, we turn to you, the source of all wisdom and understanding. We invite your presence among us, as all here seek to serve our community with mindful hearts and just actions. In the quiet of our hearts, we echo the words of your prophet Hosea, where God said, "I will lead you into the desert and speak to your heart. May this city council meeting be a time of introspection and clarity, where distractions are set aside and your voice is clearly heard. Guide the members of this council to reflect on their responsibilities with discernment and compassion. Speak to their hearts, Lord, filling them with the courage and wisdom needed to make decisions for the common good. May they be attentive to the needs of all people, especially those who are marginalized or in need. As the desert is a place of simplicity and renewal, help all people in this assembly to embrace humility and openness, allowing your spirit to lead all into paths of peace and justice. foster unity among us that the work here may bring about a flourishing of every member in our casagrand community. We pray that this time together will be

fruitful, guided by your love and reflective of the values of mercy, truth, and integrity. We ask all this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen. Please join me in the pledge of 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.

Thank you, Deacon Walsh from St. Anony's. And thank you, Mayor Prom Herman. We're going to go ahead and start with the minutes. Oh, I'm sorry. Um, Adriana, can you please accept for the record that all the council members are here? So, noted.

Thank you very much. Okay. Now, we'll start with the minutes. Mayor Fitzgiven, I move to approve the minutes for the regular city council meeting of November 3rd, 2025, and accept for the record the arts and culture commission of October 7th, 25, planning and zoning of October 2nd, 2025, and the special meeting of planning and zoning October 2nd, 2025, and the planning and zoning commission special meeting of October 16, 2025 as presented. Second. Okay, there's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Okay. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I.

Any opposed? Okay. Motion carries. Next on the agenda are the claims. Mayor Frisgiven, I move that we list the claims report for October 29th, 2025 through [clears throat] November 11th, 2025. We approve those. Second. Okay. There's been a motion and a second to accept the claims. Is there any further discussion? Okay. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Okay. The meeting agenda approval. Any changes to the agenda? Mayor Fitz Gibbons, I move that we move reports ahead of um the executive session on the agenda.

Okay. Anything else? Madame Mayor, if I can just uh advise the council that I'm going to be asking council to table item I1, but ultimately I I'd like to make a few comments at that time. Okay. Okay. So, we can get a motion to approve the amended executive session. Reference given. I move to approve the uh amended agenda. A second. Okay. There's been a motion and a second. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? Okay. Special presentations. We have a We have a celebrity here.

There he is. I I wonder which one he is [laughter] [clears throat]

and and I'll come down and and I know Jeff wanted to make a couple comments also, but I'll um well, actually, maybe maybe I'll read it from right here, Kenny, if you don't mind. Okay. Um, so as we all know, for those of you that ever see him around town, this is a special um um Cardinal fan. But today we recognize Kenny Selenus for his outstanding commitment to serving the city of Caster Grand and for the positive, impactful way he represents our community. Kenny donates countless hours to local causes, including his work as president of the Casran Food Bank, where he helps support families facing food insecurity. He also serves as as vice president of the panel county Junior Livestock Committee and sits on the boards of the Salvation Army, CASA Foster Kids, and IBEDW Local 387, demonstrating deep year-round dedication to children, families, and community resilience. Beyond his service, Kenny leads with humility, generosity, and a spirit of bringing people together. This year, the NFL recognized his character and community impact by naming him the 2025 Arizona Cardinals Fan of the Year, an honor that highlights not just his enthusiasm, but the positive influence he has across our region. So tonight, we acknowledge Kenny for his outstanding commitment to serving the city and for proudly shining a positive light on our community. We are all truly proud of everything you do. So, thank you, Kenny.

Awesome. Thank you. [applause] [applause] And he's been there a long time. And even when I was playing, he was there. Oh yeah. If you want to say a few words, go ahead. Can I just come down? Okay. No, I This is an honor, you know. I mean, like Anthony for many, many, many years up until the new stadium at um back in Flagstaff, I never called him by his name. I was always CG CG. [laughter] And that's just the love I have for CG. I always have. And so yeah, I've been there a long time.

Yeah, it is an honor. Thank you guys. This is um I'm going to go and hopefully represent the Arizona Cardinals and Cas Granny very well. So, thank you. And we heard they're donating so many boxes of food bank. Is that correct? Uh 25 25,000 mills. 25,000 25,000 [applause] you so you can wear it probably on your hat or your jersey. No, here you go. And um oh here Jody wanted to take a picture. Do you want Can we take it with the council council here? Come right here with all front.

You want to stand? We'll just get in. All right. [applause]

Well, I've traveled several times with Kenny out of state to Gaines. There's no more loyal Cardinal fan. But what is really neat for this community is the 25,000 meal donation for the Arizona Cardinals. The food bank right now is in great need and so the Cardinals came really came through. Anthony was the one that presented the check at uh when when Kenny was named fan of the year. So Anthony, we thank you and your team for this generous donation. But the community can get involved by matching these donations and making donations also to the food bank and supporting the work that Kenny is doing. Uh the amount of hours that he spends at the food bank is incredible. But that night when they named Kenny the NFL fan of the year and all of you can vote for Kenny for NFL fan of the year as many times as you would like. Also, we're hoping that Kayla Tacker is going to be there that night as well from Kasa Grande. She's one of five finalists right now for NFL flag player of the year. They're going to name two finalists to go to San Francisco and we're hoping Kayla's going to be one of those two as well. Wouldn't that be a great evening to have two people from Kasa Grande that night honored at the NFL show? And so, but again, Kenny, congratulations. Thank you for all you're doing for our community.

Thank you all. [applause] [applause] How can we vote for the Kenny to be NFL fan of the year? Go to NFL fan of the year. NFL fan of the year. Vote in NFL fan of the year and there's 32 up there and the good-looking one. Look for that. [laughter] Now, I said you can vote as many times you want and it's pretty easy. Just vote and then push on the picture you want. There obviously. And then uh just push submit. Then it comes right back on. You can do it all day long. [laughter] I'm asking. Yes.

Us and all guest man watching this. You know, hey, go there a couple votes today. That's right. Already voted for you, Kenny. Thank you, Kenny.

Okay. The consent agenda. All items listed with an asterct 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 um the council would like to remove from the consent agenda? Okay. any staff um or anyone from the public? Mayor Fitzgiven, I would move to approve the consent agenda as presented. Second.

Okay. There's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Okay. Um if we can get a roll call vote, please. Adrian. Council member Ramo. Yes. Council member Dugan. Yes. Council member Bed Dell? Yes. Council member Edwards? Yes. Council member Hston? Yes. Mayor Prom Herman. Yes. Mayor Fitzgiven. Yes. Motion carried. Thank you.

Okay. This is the public comment section. If anyone would like to address the council, now is the time to do so. I have a couple speaker cards. We'll go ahead and start with these, but if there's anyone else, please um feel free to come up. We'll start with Barbara Sundust. And Barbara, if you can give your address, please. Um, Barbara Sendundas, 1273 East Cordova Avenue in Cassag Grand. Um, I'm going to read this because I'll get off the track otherwise. Um, I read Bill Coat's article in the November 4th 5th dispatch. It breaks my heart now that these homeless and tent people are out of our parks and out of sight. So, and also out of mind. at Laundry Love this past Wednesday, one of our regulars who would love to stay someplace in an encampment um like Lois talked about in the article um was said he received citations and also he had to spend a night or two in jail. And I mean he I know he has a partner and together they stay together, they help each other, they support each other, they would clean up and work in an encampment and help do it. So, help make it work. Um, and and this is what Lois said in the article that I think we just have to do. We have to pay attention to these people. We can't just we got rid of them from the parks. We don't see them anymore. So, we have to we have to help them. Um, she said she through a plan she says um she would like the city to follow through on a plan to set up a homeless camp, something that would benefit all of us. Port of John and Water and I I know that there are at least two people in the city council business that are working on a potential

site, but [clears throat] maybe it's time for some of the people in the city or if like on the city council or knowing Cardinals fan people since they can give food, maybe they can give portaotties. Um but but for a place for them to be and it's all it's all of our responsibility, not just one or two people. It's all of our responsibility to help these people. Um not just the next four days it's going to be rain and what what are these people supposed to do? Where are they supposed to go? And they have there there's just no followup. Many of these are not drug addicts or alcoholics. Um just people who have lost jobs and homes and have no families that they can turn to. And in fact, on Wednesday, um we're doing laundry on Wednesday, and [clears throat] we did like $1,900 worth of laundry. I mean, they did, but we helped them. On Wednesday, an elderly lady told me she has no place to live. her family doesn't want her and um and it and she she works she does small jobs and she but she's living in her car and so it it's not just the encampment it's the elderly women who have no place to go and so I like for me I have to say this when I when I say to people that there is not a single shelter for men or women it it makes me feel really sad sad. So, we just need to help that. And just imagine in this weather, 50°, it's raining and you're living, sleeping in your car, you can't stretch out your body. I mean, I'm just begging for people that know people that can help. If you're listening or if you're here, if if there are people who

can help the city council, um the mayor and Steve, cuz I'm they're the ones really working on a place. So anyway, I apologize for taking time, but thank you Barbara. Okay, next um speaker card is Peter and Cenus. If you can give your address, Peter.

Okay. 700 East Rodeo Road, Kasak Grand, Arizona, if I want to. Good evening, madame mayor, council, city leaders. Um on election night a couple weeks ago, just about two weeks ago, um I was busy doing a job site and it was about 5:40 and I realized I got to go vote. It's going to close at 6:00, which I was wrong. at seven. But so I dropped everything where I was at and ran to where I voted last year, which is the cowboy church past uh Val Vista and Panel around that area by that Fry Food store just a little more a little bit uh more north. So I got there and the place where they where I voted last year, there was people in that area. It's a separate building from the church. And I pulled up, but they weren't voting. There was no signs or anything. So I said, "Well, maybe they moved to the church." So I went over this guy out there. Hey, how's it going? How's it going, bud? you know, asking about the the voting and whatnot. He says, "Well, they did it here last year, but I don't see anything." We're having a little conversation. A young woman comes out. He asks her and she's like, "I don't know. It was here last year." So, she hops on and starts googling. She's, "Well, well, good news. You have till 7:00." She says, "So, you got a little bit of time." And, you know, here's the map. So, I I pulled over to the side right there at the parking lot. They were having He actually was like, "If you want free tacos, they have all you can eat tacos over there in that building." That's what was going on where they had voted. And so I I Googled the map and I found the next nearest place was um Velago Middle School or some Vago School Elementary, something like that. So I said, "Okay, it's right down the street." I went down there. I'm pulling up down the road. I go, "There it is." I saw cars in the parking lot. Said, "Okay, this is the spot. I can vote here." But I saw no signs. I pull up and I see a lady walking around the ballot. I said, "Excuse me, ma'am." I said, "Where do where do we vote?" And she's like, "That's what I'm looking for. I voted here last year." And she goes, "But there's a the gym looks open. I'll go over there. So, I park, get off, encounter her, and she go, she's like, there's nobody in the gym. It's open, but there's not a person in there. So, I'm like, what? This is weird. And so, we're just having conversation. Well, another woman walks up. She said, what are you guys looking for? Like, we're here to vote. And she goes, oh, it's

over here. Oh, let's follow her. Again, there's no signs anywhere. We follow her to a door and it's completely locked. There's no lights on in there. And said, so we're like, what's going on? I don't know. So, we just had a quick conversation. You know, this is where it was last year, whatever. Um, we part ways. I get on my phone. I said, "Well, there's a Baptist church down the street. They're supposed to have a poll there, too. A polling place." Um, but for me, it was Tuesday night and I was doing security at church and we had this Tuesday night service. I got to get to church. It's starting to get late on me. So, I run to church. I'm in there setting up in the lobby. Now, it's 6:40, 6:45 around there. A pastor from the church comes in and she has two ballots in her hand. She's like, "Do you guys know what's going on over here?" I'm like, "What was happening?" She goes, "I went to the Baptist church down the street and there's supposed to be a polling place and there wasn't." And I go, "That's the one I was going to go to. So, that would have been the third place I would have went to." I go, "The one over here?" She's like, "Yeah, there's nothing." And I said, "I don't know." I I told her my story like I just explained to you guys. Um I said, "So, I don't know what's going to happen." I said, "You could probably go down to the city to here and there might be a a place here to drop it off or to vote." I said, "But I don't know. I don't know if you'll make it in time." Anyway, long story short, um I don't know what happened. I don't know if that falls on count on Cass Grand or Panal, but in that story, there's five of us that didn't get to vote. Five of us that were not counted. It might not seem like a lot, but it's important. And I don't know how many other people were out there going, I just got off work and I got to go and no, no, no, no. So, I don't know what the story was. I just want to advise council and city leaders that that happened just so you're aware. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else? Hi there. If you can give your name and address, please. Wagner. Um, 1376 East Cottonwood Lane. Um, hi. I'm Isabella Wagner and I'm here with the Cassagran Youth Commission. And we would just like to let you know all of the things that we've been doing recently and that we have coming up. Um, recently, not too long ago, we had our day of shredding where we raised a lot of money, like just over $1,000, I believe. Oops. Sorry. Don't worry.

Just over $1,000, I believe. And we help recently, just last week, we helped McCartney Ranch with their fall festival. And um that was really successful. And if you'd like to know, next Saturday starting at 8 in the morning, we have a meeting if any of you would like to be there. Thank you. Thanks for coming. Okay, anyone else? Okay, we'll go ahead and close the public comments. And now we are on item I1 that Kevin or is this the one item you were talking? Okay, Larry.

Yes, madame mayor, members of the council. Uh I know that all of you are aware of the fact that item I I1 was actually tabled at the last meeting to this particular meeting and uh I have shared some of the data points and information with the mayor and council but uh Mr. Lewis and I met this morning have and had a dialogue related about uh the specific item and more specifically about uh our our traffic signal selections in general. And uh I'll be asking I'm asking the mayor and council to table this item until the December 15th meeting where we can have a study session in advance of that to do a couple of things. Number one is to provide more specific detail and information at on this intersection on the traffic traffic traffic signal warrants as well as the development in that area and uh also have broaden that to have discussion related to how intersections are selected for traffic signals and perhaps uh the priority system if you will that we've used the last couple of years. really providing the mayor and council with rather than getting in peace mill that you're going to get it in one particular meeting. And so, uh, the thought would be that if you table it to the 15th, you could consider the item following that if you so choose.

Okay. Any questions? No. Can I make a motion? Okay. Mayor Fisk Evans, I move that we table resolution number 5845 uh to December 15th. Yeah. A second. Okay. There's been a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? The only question I have, Larry, is if we say we're going to table it, does that mean this item will have to come back on the 15th? Right. To act, you can table it again further at that point or pull it at that time or something. Okay. Okay.

Got it. Okay. Um, so any other discussion? Nope. Okay. If we can get a roll call vote, please. Council member Rimmo, yes. Council member Dugan, yes. Council member Bedell, yes. Council member Edwards, yes. Council member Hston, yes. Mayor President Herman, yes. Mayor [clears throat] Fitzgiven, yes. Motion's tabled. Okay. Item I two. Is that you, Kevin?

Thank you. staff recommends that the mayor and city council approve award a contract to the city's for the city's annual cleaning program, sewer cleaning program uh to two qualified firms, Allison Mills Contracting and Ancon Services based on the results of a request for proposals uh we went through the evaluation process for this is for a job order contract uh for maintenance services in our sewer system uh specifically for cleaning And this is a program that we've had in place and have used other uh municipalities uh contracts to piggyback off of. So, this is the first one that we've done a job orderer contract for. And I want to note that uh we typically uh have one company that we use for sewer cleaning. However, what we've found is sometimes they're not available when we have an emergency or something like that. um where we found Allison Mills contracting one of our local contractors has really been helpful when we do have emergencies and are able to fill in when we're not able to get a hold of our regular contractor. So, we did pick two contractors this year just for that reason so that if one's not available, we can we can hopefully lean on the other. But this gives us a lot of opportunity to continue with our program. And we did uh we did look at uh four different firms that submitted their qualifications and uh these two uh rose to the top. So um this is something that we budget for each year. I believe this year for sewer cleaning we have $450,000 uh in the budget. Uh we don't always spend that entire amount. Uh it's an as needed, but uh typically we we use most of that money. So, uh, with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Okay. Any questions? No. Or comments? No. Okay. No question comments. We can get a motion to approve. Oh, sorry. Resolution number. Resolution number 5849. A resolution of the council of the city of Casagran, Arizona, accepting two proposals from various companies for the annual sewer cleaning program, authorizing expenditure of public funds and authorizing execution of the agreement by the city manager. Mayor Fitz Gibbons, I move to approve resolution number 5849 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. Council member Rammo, yes. Council member Dugan, yes. Council member Billan, yes. Council member Edwards, yes. Council member Hston, yes. Mayor Prom Herman, yes. Mayor Fitzgiven, yes. Motion carries. Thank you.

Okay. Item J1. These are the appointments for the um transit advisory. These all three members were on the transit transit advisory committee and were eligible for a second term. So, we're happy to um I'm happy to recommend them. One is David Meestis, Ralph Varela, and um Mike Henderson. Mike Henderson is here today. Mike, thank you very much. If you can kind of wave to everyone so they all know who you are. Um thank you so much for dedicating your time. We're, you know, excited to see where where this program is going. So, thank you. So, um, if we can get a motion to approve these appointments. So, move. Second.

Okay. There's been a motion and a second. All those in favor, please signify by saying, "I I."

Any opposed? Okay. Motion carries. Thank you again, Mike. Thank you for being here, too. Item K1. Is that you, Adriana? Uh this item is the canvas of the CAS grant special bond election results for proposition 496 that was held on November 4. Uh this will be adopting the resolution approving the canvas and certifying the official results of proposition 496. The special bond election as required by Arizona revised statutes. The special bond election was held November 4th, 2025 to submit to the qualified electors of the city of Cassagrant one ballot question proposition 496 regarding the issuance of general obligation bonds for public improvements in the amount of $67 million for the purpose of parks parks and recreation open spaces including aquatic parks. Following the election, the Panal County Elections Department tabulated all ballots and has provided the city with the official results. Adoption adoption of the resolution will formally approve the canvas and certify the results of Proposition 496 in accordance with Arizona's state law and will enable the city to proceed with ne next steps as authorized by the voters. Mayor Fitzgibbon, I move Fitz Gibbons, I move approval of resolution number 5851 as presented.

Second, second [laughter] double second. Double second. Um, okay. Solution number. Resolution number 5851, a resolution of the city council of the city of Cass Grant, Arizona, canvasing, declaring, and adopting the results of the special bond election held November 4th, 2025. Sorry Adriana, we thought you read it already. I thought [laughter] you did. We weren't used to you talking doing all go through all that. So, okay. So, now we have a resolution. Now, a motion to approve. Mayor Fitzgiven, I move approval of resolution number 5851 as presented. Second. [laughter]

Okay. [laughter] Okay. There's been a motion and a second, double second. Um, is there any further discussion? Okay. All now if we can get a roll call vote. Council member Romo, yes. Council member Dugan, yes. Council member V. Dylan, yes. [laughter] Council member Edwards, yes. Council member Hston, yes. Mayor Prom Herman, yes. Mayor Fitzgiven, yes. Motion carries. We have some happy people up here tonight.

Yes. [applause] And yes, maybe maybe that's why everyone's so happy. We're happy on this on this. Um but you know no thank you for everyone for voting and you know of course the you know the confusion we'll just have to address that. So but thank you. What am I not supposed to say anything? Okay. Given that [cough and clears throat] the item was there I think and part of the resolution um our clerk will be sending a report to the Senate. I think it's the Senate, but um because it was an all mail ballot, which I think is an important thing to, you know, remember that this one was an all mail ballot, right? Um mail in mailin ballot, right? Not just mail. It was all all mail in all mail in all mailin ballot,

right? And so we just have to make sure in the future how we address that. And um yeah, and and it was such a close margin. You know, we're definitely going to, you know, share, you know, strategies moving forward to make sure we get messaging out on what the next steps are, too. So, we're working on that now. So, thank you to everyone. Okay, reports. We'll go ahead and start with reports and then we'll go into executive session. So, why don't we start with you, Matt?

Thank you. Uh, just a couple things is I got to participate in the citywide cleanup day with the Rotary Clubs project at Rotary Park. But while we were there, we saw lots of other people around town and I was driving around that morning and there were people all over the city cleaning up roads and parks and so it was great to see. Um, also this Thursday at 6 PM is the territorial party for the boy uh fundraiser for Boys and Girls Clubs of the Casan, I'm sorry, Southern Corridor now. Um, it held at the Cascan Rec Center and it's a free event and there'll be stuff for sale, raffles, and it's supporting uh either ASU or the team down south. So, what we can [laughter] do anyway, look forward to seeing everybody there. Free event be a lot of fun. And that's all I have.

Okay. Thank you, Anthony.

Uh on November the 29th, our church will be everything is free. We'll have furniture, we have clothes, you name it, we'll have it. Um and it's just for our community just giving away free uh items. And so I wanted to make mention of that al oh address 640 West Okil Greater Evangelist Temple. And so this is our second time doing it this year and we normally try to do it twice a year. And so once again at 640 West Okato free items. Um also want to say I'm so proud of Cash Grand Union High School girls flag football team. Um they went undefeated all the way through the year. They lost the last game. Then they went in the playoffs on last Wednesday. They won and then they lost on on Saturday. So unfortunate because we looking for great things from them, but we want to let them know that we're so proud of them, their playing ability. They were very awesome. They had injuries and yet still maintain that strength to continue to win. And so we wanted to just make mention of them, let them know that we're so proud of them.

That's it. Thank you.

Sure. um had the privilege to attend our uh community day with artist Paige Reer right here at the North Plaza Arch Mural right behind city hall right here on the north side. Um community members got to paint uh contribute a little bit of their paint on the wall and on their clothes and everything else we did out there and that was that was a lot of fun. If you get a chance go by and check out the progress it should be completed by February. But if you go on out back there and take a look anytime you get a free time, uh it's a really neat project and it's really going to look beautiful for our city hall campus and for our community events that we can hold back there. Also had the uh went to the FFA straight steak fry which is great success. I got the opportunity to meet some of the kids and some of the uh community members that were volunteering their time. I even got to grill a few steaks for everybody myself. So had a blast. It was a it was a great

great FFA steak fry. That's all for me. Okay. Um, I'm easy. No record. [snorts] Yeah, Saturday I got to go out to the Podium Club. Um, Oh, yeah. which I'll admit was the first time I've been out there. Uh, it's it's a really cool place. Um, lots of nice cars. Uh, but it was a great fundraiser for two organizations. One being the Panal County uh, Veterans Memorial and the other one was uh, Run for Blue, which is an organization that supports uh, families of fallen first responders. Um, but it was it was a great time. Lots of people. I was I was impressed with how many people actually showed up.

But I tell you, if you have not been out to the Podium Club, they have lots of events throughout the year. Um, it's it's a pretty neat place and I would suggest you check it out if you haven't been there yet. So, at Cactus Middle School, we're doing our annual food drive. So, we have a goal of 800 non-perishable food items. So, if you'd like to come by and donate, that would be wonderful. We're just looking to help out our community. Our NJHS does that. They do a wonderful job with that. So, looking forward to supporting um those around us.

Thank you. Okay. Um just for me um just a thank you to the city attorney's office, Brett, your um victims advocate group for organizing the flower garden event. It was so nice having the elementary school kids and high school um kids out here um planting the flowers and there were some great presentations and I can't remember the flag football player. What's her name? Lenise Armstrong.

Lenise Armstrong. Just such a such a beautiful talented young lady. She was injured this year but her words were just so um inspirational to everyone. So it was really really nice. So thank you to your group for doing that. um the League of Cities and Towns, as you guys know, I'm on the executive committee, one of 25 mayors that serve on this. We just um had our quarterly meeting, and we um chose a new executive director. They're in negotiations actually with a gentleman at this time. His name is Renee Guian. He's um currently with the league and um it looks like that's going to be the new director. But it was really clear with the um executive team on um legislation in the future and how we want to focus on local control and it obviously some of the losses you know with some of the legislation that happened with um cities. This is something that everyone wants to join forces on and obviously we know the impact of that. So, um it's going to be, you know, just working through that with the with the um executive team there at the league. And um I met today I'm speaking of the legislature with our representatives Martinez and Lopez. A lot of discussions. It was myself as well as the my fellow mayors from Maricopa, Koolage, and Florence that talked about the upcoming session and what we want to see and what some of the you know focus areas and obviously it's things that we've been talking about. So definitely shared with them and so I just encourage everyone whether you're in the community council members just talk to your legislators let them know some of the you know the the the issues they you know bring up and some of the legislation they pass and you know the food tax bill has not gone away. It might come back and so they they told us that um so we know how that will impact us. So continue to talk to your legislators um if there is anything that you think that they should be focusing on. Um there was a lot of talk today on homeless. You know, just want to make

sure I remind everyone that there are two different groups that are meeting monthly. One is CG Helps Coalition and the other one is the the unshelter person action committee. And so there's a lot going on in this community with when it regards to homeless. And um and so the CG helps coalition talks a lot about the the services that are in the community. um whether they're you know food banks you know Salvation Army what's going on there we have um you know with the toy drives that are coming up the Thanksgiving dinner they are offering the Elks Club is offering Thanksgiving dinner at 10:30 on Thanksgiving Day so if anyone would like to um volunteer please feel free the Elks is always looking for people and that's in coordination with Salvation Army. So this is a group that's active and doing things throughout the whole community and they meet monthly. So it's the second Thursday of the month if anyone would like to go from 9:30 to 11:00 and then following that meeting is the unshelter unsheltered person action committee and that is a little bit more focused on things that are going on specifically for the unsheltered especially after the ordinance passed. And um we have organizations that are also meeting monthly and serving our community and doing outreach. Cara, Seeds of Hope, St. Vincent Paul, Cash Grant Alliance, Horizon Health, um Community Bridges, CHIP, and then of course the city. So Steven has been um coordinating these efforts. As you know, we're continuing to look for um you know, some type of property, something for our homeless, some type of transition center or transition space. and that is still continuing to move along and these agencies have been really really helpful um and on board. So it may not seem like things are going on but there's a lot of dedication to um address these issues. If you want to

know more about some of the initiatives and resources the city um Deb is has done a great job and Stephen on putting these resources on our website especially with everything going on with food insecurity and the economy and everything. Um we've been trying to update all these resources and there's pages of different organizations things that you know how people are addressing them and resources that are there. um when it comes to meals, foods, um employment, transportation, health, there's um but it it is updated and we're continuing to a ask our nonprofits to provide us with accurate updated information so the community can see that all of the resources and activities that are going around um you know around this issue. So just wanted to update you all on that. And then um you know Cash Grand Union, you know, there was a lot of activities going on with Cash Grand Union. Um the flag football, great game. I went to that game. It was unbelievable. So I'm you know, super bummed that they lost, but they had a great game last week. The Cash Grand Union band, I went to their state competition and they won third place, which is amazing. You know, they're back on the 5A division, which is the biggest schools in the state, and they were amazing. And I know the Cascer team won first and third division. They're in a co-ed um division this year and so they're going to be going on to um to state. So um so electric light parades coming up December 3rd and I think the only other thing couple other meetings the ASU economic forecast they have an economic um you lunch in every year to kind of show where we are which we all kind of know where we are when it comes to the economy. Um but you know in the end they say that United States is pretty resilient and so even though all of this is going on you know we are we are pretty resilient. We're just kind of getting through all the effects on the

tariffs um you know the smaller job um openings these days and um inflation. So that was a good um I'd be happy to share anything more with you all. and the Canadian Commission, you know, they're they're concerned with the number of Canad Canadians that or lack of Canadians that are coming over like they used to um when it comes to buying homes, you know, um winter visitors and um so they're trying to attract a younger generation to consider, you know, coming to um Arizona um since, you know, a lot of people aren't coming with because of everything going on. So anyways, um that's about it for me. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and um again if you want to help, you know, there's our food banks are are definitely looking for um more contributions and donations. So if you're in that giving mood, please there's there's so many of them out there that can use your help. So thank you and everything and we'll go into executive committee. So if I can get a motion to go into

So move second. Um okay. Um all those motion a second. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? Okay. Sorry, I know I was talking fast.