Mayor and Council - Special Meeting

That was fixed, no? What's wrong?

Mr. Mayor, it's time.

I'd like to call a special meeting to order at 4.30. Roll call, please.

Mayor Jose Grijalva.

Here.

Council Member Aida Pedreco. Here. Council Member Jose Montano.

Here.

Council Member Gustavo Durazo. Council Member Ray Shelton. Present. Council Member Maria Dillman. Present. Council Member Richard Acosta.

Present.

City Manager Honor Kiko.

Present.

City Attorney Dennis Fitzgibbons.

Present.

City Treasurer Alejandro Martinez.

Here.

Thank you.

Thank you. Item three, persons wishing to address the council in writing or verbally on any item not on the agenda. Do we have anyone?

We do not, Mr. Mayor.

Item four, discussion decision to call for and conduct an executive session. Item A, under the authority of ARS 38-431.03A3 and 4 to consider its position, instruct its representatives and obtain legal advice regarding the property at 1300 North San Antonio Avenue and the bids received regarding the property. May I have a motion to enter into executive session?

Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Shelton.

I recommend we go into executive session to discuss said matter.

Do I have a second?

Second.

Motion by Mr. Shelton, second by Mrs. Dillman. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedrego? Yes. Council Member Montaño? Yes. Council Member Durazo? Yes. Council Member Shelton? Yes. Council Member Dillman? Yes. Council Member Acosta? Yes. Mr. Mayor?

Yes. Motion passes. We enter into executive session at 4.31 p.m.

Ruben Duran, A possible decision on bid award.

Ruben Duran, The update is, we have received a bid. Ruben Duran, And there's details that we are directing staff to reach out to the bitter and find out more information is on council's behalf, is that good Dennis. Ruben Duran, Is not it not repeating myself. I just want to make sure. He hears it, so we're. Is he in?

Not yet.

Is everybody good with that update? Item number six, adjournment. Do I have a motion to adjourn?

I assume movement.

Motion by Ms. Pedro Gold. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Mr. Shelton. All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Any nays? Ayes have it. We adjourn at 5.27 p.m. I'm not so is it okay for the next meeting if I say he came in during the last meeting and he set up for 430 you have it okay thank you that's what we have the clerks to bail us out I like to call this public me. Public meeting notice to order item number one or that's item number two roll call please. Mayor Patricio Calva. Mayor Patricio Calva.

Mayor Patricio Calva. Mayor Patricio Calva. Mayor Patricio Calva. Mayor Patricio Calva. Mayor Patricio Calva. Mayor Patricio Calva. Mayor Patricio Calva.

Thank you. Item three, persons wishing to address the council in writing or verbally on any item not on the agenda. Do we have anyone? We have one call to the public. Ms. Diana Lamar, Broadway Star. No pressure.

Good evening, everyone. Diana Lamar, 1303 F Avenue. I wanted to first thank the city and especially Jennifer Smith. Not sure if she's here. Just to say thank you for how kind the staff was when we came to City Hall for the vigil that we held, I guess three weeks ago now, something like that. It was just really appreciated. Also, I wanted to make everyone aware that there is... a Friends Across the Borders event this Saturday, the 15th. Several events happening throughout the day, yoga in the morning, I believe, and events across the line. I believe the information in the flyers are readily available, but I just wanted to highlight that. Thank you.

Thank you. And thank you, Ms. Item four, discussion decision on public hearing. The purpose of the public hearing is to allow public participation regarding the minor general plan amendment. Ms. Gonzalez. We're going to keep you busy tonight.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the Council. A request to amend the City of Douglas General Plan land use designation for assessor's parcel number 409-16-001B and a portion of assessor's parcel number 409-16-001C, located at the southeast corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue, Douglas, Arizona, from High Density Residential to Commercial Center. We have a representative of Circle K present today, and we also have a couple of the team members on Zoom if you have any questions for them.

Thank you. We do have a speaker for this sign item, Ms. Diana Lamar.

Hello again. I don't know that I consider a zoning change like this in this particular location to be minor. I really hope that there are other members of the public present that might share their feelings about a gas station convenience store located in a, I think it's low or medium designation, residential, so close to schools. It wouldn't be my choice of a location, and I feel like we have, for a small town, we have a lot of gas stations and convenience stores with a lot of product in the stores. We've all eaten it, so that's okay, but I don't know that... Our population, our community needs the kind of food and snacks that are being offered at any convenience store, to be quite frank. Let me see here. I guess that's about all I have to say on the matter. I just really do hope that other people speak up as well. I'm just kind of baffled. I understand that the city is not in an easy position and we want economic development but I don't see that this is the direction for the community to go. Thank you.

Thank you. And we do have representatives here, so, and online. So if anybody wants to say a word or two or sit here for 10 minutes, it's a public hearing.

I was going to speak at the next at the. The next portion of this hearing about the. Change of zoning, but I was wondering okay Steve Alfred studio architecture 1303 F avenue Douglas. I was wondering, is there any graphics that are involved? Because I looked at the package and I didn't see any land use analysis around the site, which is a typical planning rezoning exhibit that an architect or a owner or an owner's representative would Dave Kuntz, include in the package, and I don't see any site plan to know what is how the gas to how big the gas station is, and what's its orientation, and what's going to be done with the with the rest of the land. I think these are very important issues, and I think they should be addressed by the Circle K representative. I think that scale here really matters. We're talking about a small circle K on the corner in and out, and we're done is one thing. But if we're talking about a facility the size of the one that's on Pan American, I think that's another. And I really hope that we address these issues before we get to the point that we've amended our general plan. There is the ditch that is east. Of this site is a natural barrier. It's the drainage that comes down 15 and turns and goes South to the border and that edge in zone planning and zoning and. land use issues, you kind of look for edges. And I think that's an edge because it really does. You drop down maybe three, four feet and that and that that provides a natural barrier between the residential on the east and the commercial, the residential on the west and the commercial, the San Antonio shopping district. on the West. Thank you.

Thank you. That's why they're here.

So we've had two individuals It's a public hearing, sir. You're the man of the hour.

Corey Parr, Circle K. Thank you for this time and the opportunity to speak with you and everyone else that's in attendance here. I'll stick to answering what I can answer from what I've heard so far. I have some team members on the call as well that might be able to get a little bit more in detail. Um, this is not going to be a store like you see on Pan American. Uh, what we are building at 15th and Florida is called a core proto. It is 3,956 square feet. Pan American is 5,200 square feet. We are only going to have five MPDs or, um, pumping stations, whereas Pan American has seven. So we designed this store to fit a neighborhood. And that was our goal is to bring convenience to the neighborhood. As far as where it's going to sit on the parcel, we have five acres. We're not going to need all that. So there's going to be residual land specifically to the east and that drainage that was just spoken of. We're not going to be anywhere near that. We're not going to affect that. That's not going to be impeded in any way. The land that's going to remain to the south, we're going to build in a cross-access from our store for hopefully a future retailer that could bring business to the city of Douglas. So we don't have any plans for that portion of land right now. We own it. It's just going to sit there, but we are going to develop our store with the cross-access in hopes that a future retailer will come in and want to kind of piggyback off of Circle K. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

Anybody from your team have any words?

Yes, I do. My name is Rodrigo Soler. I also represent Circle K. One of the things that we also did is we took all the necessary precautions to make sure that our store is the right distance away from all the schools and the residential properties nearby. And like Corey said, we are far away from this ditch and we're making sure that we are taking all the necessary precautions to mitigate everything that's on site. And as Corey mentioned, we're hoping to also incentivize other retailers to come in and build around this property.

Thank you. Anyone else? This, this is not a public hearing right now when you can use it.

Okay. Okay. Um, just some thoughts swirling in my head. Um, I'm curious how and why this site was chosen. Um, who the owner is, the sale price, which is usually quite high, I understand, when it comes to Circle Ks and other similar companies. It's usually a pretty high payout. if liquor and cigarettes will be sold. I didn't realize the property had already been purchased. So that was new to me. I suppose I should have realized that. Yeah, and I was wondering if the school or the school board had an opinion on this and if they have been reached out to.

Thank you. We have three more minutes. Okay.

Technically, we are still in escrow. It is not closed. So I'm going to wait to see if that happens before divulging the sales price. To my knowledge, everyone here in the city of Douglas, including the school and school board, is aware of this plan. Yes, we plan to sell cigarettes and beer. We are not going to sell liquor like our store on Pan American has. So we're just going to do beer and wine. I think that was it. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Hoffer, glass beaker, and then we'll end the public hearing.

I was wondering if there was a distance that alcohol sales need to be away from the schools. There is zero. And then we have two schools, actually. We have the high school, and then we have Omega on to the east. My issue with the drainage is I think that property should be donated to the city of Douglas for a retention basin. to slow down the water that's eventually going to the new port. And I think there's two parcels in there that are owned by the same property owner. But I would think this is a good time to negotiate that transfer of the land to the city. Thank you.

Thank you. Item five, do I have a motion to adjourn?

I so move, ma'am.

Do I have a second? second motion by mrs pedro goes taken by mrs dillman all in favor say aye aye any nays ayes have it we adjourn at 5 44 p.m I'd like to call the special meeting public hearing CDBG to order that 545. Roll call, please.

Mayor Jose Grijalva.

Here.

Council Member Aida Pedregal. Present. Council Member Jose Montano.

Here.

Council Member Gustavo Durazo. Here. Council Member Ray Shelton.

Present.

Council Member Maria Dillman.

Present.

Council Member Richard Acosta. Present. City Manager Arnold Urquijo. Present. City Attorney Dennis Fitzgibbons.

Present.

City Treasurer Alejandro Martinez.

Here. Thank you. And Mr. Pedregal sat here, right? Present. Okay.

Yes.

All right. Item three, persons wish to address the council in writing or verbally on any item not on the agenda. Do we have anyone?

We do not.

Thank you. Item for discussion decision on public hearing. The purpose of the public hearing is to allow public participation regarding the proposed activities to be undertaken in the CDBG FY26 draft annual plan. Ms. Gonzalez.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the council. The city participates in the CDBG program and is required to prepare and submit an annual action plan for HUD approval in order to receive the funds. The annual action plan outlines how program funds will be expended during the funding cycle and it provides a basis for assessing performance. The first public hearing was held on July 9th, 2026 and the second public hearing is scheduled tonight to be in compliance with the regulations of the program.

I'll entertain any questions. Thank you. Anyone from the public? She said she'll entertain any questions.

Go ahead. I do have a question because I read the packet that was, and I just wanted to say that on there it said that no community response. So my question to you is how is it shared with community members?

Mister mayor councilwoman better go we send an e-mail blast inviting certain stuff the community to participate in our public hearings we provide the notice in advance the notice is up also published in a newspaper informing the public that these 2 public hearings will be held and the plan is set out for public review and comment at least 30 days in advance of approval.

Number one we don't have a newspaper. and number two the majority of people don't use the majority of the senior citizens that use these programs don't have email me so i'm just curious what other options do they have to learn about this because to me it really looked bad when i saw the first picture to me was like you know it wasn't even about our community the picture on the flyer that was presented okay so i i sort of felt like that was uh a cut and paste type of report. And I just felt that being that I see a lot of people that need this type of assistance and they're not, they don't hear about this program because when I speak with them and I tell them, hey, it's this and this, So I was just hoping that there is a better way of communicating with the community as to this type of program, because I know the monies are out there and I know it's through grants. It's not from the city, but there has to be a better way of letting the constituents of Douglas know about this so that they can provide opinions. Because the way the report says, it says nobody from the community responded. I feel that makes Douglas look bad. And that's all I'd like to add.

Thank you.

Any other discussion? Mr. Hoffer, come on up. The purpose of the public hearing is to hear from you.

Do I need to tell my name and my address, 1303FF? I read the report twice. And I know I could be stupid, but All I really got out of it was we had 180,000 to work with. PB, Harmon Zuckerman, 38,000 of it was going to go to administrative costs and 150,000 was going to go to something and I just didn't get that something was PB, Harmon Zuckerman, And I was hoping that maybe we can explain or have a line item tally about where the 150,000 is going to be spent and when. Thank you. PB, Harmon Zuckerman, Thank you, Ms. Gonzalez.

Mr. Mayor, Mr. Helfrich, HUD establishes priorities that the HUD CDBG funding should be used for. Those priorities outline how we can spend the funding. There are eligible activities and ineligible activities, and they also provide a map of low and moderate income areas within the city where the funds can be expended. When we submitted our five-year consolidated plan to HUD, we let them know that the city's priorities would highly focus on infrastructure, public facilities, and public services. So any of those activities within the designated LMI areas, the city can choose to expend these funds on if they're qualifying areas. Internal meetings with our leadership determined that we have many, many needs as much in public infrastructure and public facilities, public services, and there are potential projects that were discussed and it was decided to be purposely vague with how we're gonna use the funds because once we get very specific with HUD telling them we're gonna do streets, curbs and sidewalks on these streets, then we're held to that. We can't change the focus of where we expend the funds unless we go through an amendment process, which is very lengthy, costly and time consuming. So some ideas that I can share with you is lighting in areas that currently have no street lights, more curb, sidewalk, gutter, ADA accessible corners, streets improvements and attention to public facilities to include our aquatic center, our parks, the library, the visitor center, any of those areas that fall within the LMI areas in the city and are eligible for the use of the funds, we can address with these monies.

Thank you.

And I'd like to ask the administrative, the funds that go to administration, Who receives those funds?

Mr. Mayor, Councilwoman Pedregal, the city receives those funds, and those funds are associated with publications fees, consultant fees. If we have any engineering and design that needs to go into a project, all of those are covered under the administrative expense. Thank you. You're welcome.

John Rick. I would like to request 150,000 goes like that or we've just spent it. I would like to request that the 150,000 go directly to accessible curb cuts and routes on all the on the for the people that are in accessible chairs to get from, say, my building, which was on F and 13th to Walmart. I think we have a big, you know, this is 2026. The city of Phoenix went through doing accessible curb cuts in the 90s. We're almost 30 years behind. You know, I don't know how many curb cuts we can get for 150,000. We might get 10 if we're lucky. But I think that's well spent. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else from the audience? We have six minutes until the top of the hour. There's no other discussion. Item five, adjournment. Do I have a motion to adjourn?

I so move, Mayor.

Do I have a second? Second. One second by Mr. Federico, second by Mr. Shelton. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any nays? Ayes have it. We adjourn at 5.54 p.m. A regular meeting to order at 6.01 p.m. Roll call, please.

Mr. Mayor, if we can go with item number two.

Oh, sorry. We've had three meetings and then we don't do the Pledge of Allegiance and I keep thinking it's right away. I knew Mrs. Delman was going to get upset with me. Item two, Pledge of Allegiance, and let's remain standing for Pastor Jorge Herrera from Primera Iglesia Bautista for the invocation.

I pledge allegiance Good afternoon, everyone.

It is a blessing for me to be here and to have the invitation to invoke the name of our God. Father, in the name of Jesus, your beloved Son, we thank you, my God, for the great blessing to find ourselves in this place. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the city of Douglas. At this time, my God, I pray for the Elder, for each person, Lord of the Council, and each one of those who are invited here, Lord. Praying to you, Heavenly Father, that you have in good, my God, bless the city of Douglas, its government, My God, we pray for prosperity in this city. May you, my God, bless the businesses on F Avenue, G Avenue, 5th Street, sir, A Avenue, San Antonio Avenue, sir. All those businesses, my God, may they resurface again. Give guidance and direction, and I pray, Lord, that you have in good to bring, Lord, inversionistas a este lugar para que mi Dios la prosperidad se deje ver y muchas familias, Señor, se queden para habitar y no tengan que moverse de aquí. Mi Dios da guía y dirección en todo, bendice la administración, bendice, Señor, A cada departamento, Señor, te ruego por ellos, mi Dios. Padre Celestial, gracias por lo que tú has hecho, por lo que tú estás haciendo, y por aquello que harás en esta hermosa ciudad. Te lo agradezco en el nombre poderoso de nuestro Señor y Salvador, Jesucristo. Amén. Gracias.

Antes que se vaya, Pastor, ¿no puede decir dónde está su iglesia y las horas de sus servicios y estudios?

Estoy trabajando ahorita actualmente en la calle 13 y Carmelita, en la primera iglesia bautista, donde Aira es uno de los miembros de esa iglesia. Los días de servicio son hoy miércoles a las 7 de la tarde, el domingo a las 10 de la mañana, y a las 11 el servicio grande.

Muchas gracias. Muchas gracias por el rezo y por lo que hace por nuestra comunidad.

Que Dios lo bendiga. Seguimos orando y gracias por la invitación. Bendiciones.

Gracias.

Gracias. Item four, roll call, please.

Mayor Pepe Grijalva. Here. Council Member Aida Pedrego. Present. Council Member Jose Montano. Here. Council Member Gustavo Durazo. Here. Council Member Ray Shelton.

Present.

Council Member Maria Dillman.

Present.

Council Member Richard Acosta.

Present.

City Manager Honor Akifo. Present. City Attorney Dennis Fitzgibbons.

Present.

City Treasurer Alejandro Martinez.

Here. Thank you. Item six, Mayor Pro Temp designation.

Do I have to read that? Mr. Mayor, I'm sorry.

Oh, events. We've had two meetings. Well, actually, we've been here for a while, so I apologize. This is the important part of the whole meeting, okay? Events updates to see what we're doing.

From the Douglas Public Library. This is what's happening at the library in the month of August. As always, you can pick up a calendar just like this one here at the library, or you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you never miss out on any of our activities. We are going back to after school activities this month with Mondays, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. relaxing activities. Tuesdays at 3.30 p.m. we have our STEAM club with different activities each week. Wednesdays at 3 p.m., we have a free movie for kids with popcorn and juice. Thursdays at 11 a.m., we have preschool story time for the little ones. And August 22nd, that is Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon, we have chess club. You can come practice or learn chess with a bilingual teacher. And on August 28th, we have our paint night for adults. You can call us or come here at the library to register. All materials are included. As always, we really hope to see you here at the library this month, and remember that the best tool for school is a library card. Bye-bye!

Join us at the City of Douglas Aquatic Center and 8th Street Pool for our 2026 back-to-school aquatics programs. Please note that our open swim and lab swim hours have changed as the children go back to school and the Douglas High School swim team begins their 2026 swim season practices at the Aquatic Center. Lap swim is available at the Aquatic Center for Exercise, Conditioning, and Therapy Pool Monday through Friday from 5 to 8 a.m. and 6.30 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 7 to 10 a.m. Open swim hours are available at the 8th Street Pool for Friday night swim from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. Adult swim lessons will continue at the Aquatic Center with Session 2 from August 10 to August 20. Classes are Monday to Thursday from 7 to 8 pm. Water aerobics will continue at the Aquatic Center Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 to 6.45 pm. This session will be extended into September to provide free makeup classes for those that have been cancelled due to thunderstorms in the area. Feel free to give us a call with any questions or concerns regarding our City of Douglas Aquatics programs. Hello from the Recreation Department. Check out these upcoming events. On Friday, August 21st, Art in the Park will be collaborating with the Douglas Market. There will be canvases available to be painted with acrylic paint, face painting, and chess. Save the date, September 12th the Fiestas Patrias will be at Raul Castro Park from 7pm to midnight. Come celebrate our heritage with great music, a beer garden, and great memories to be made. Get ready, the Mexican Baseball Fiesta is coming on Wednesday, September 30th at the Copper King Stadium. Pre-sale tickets are available on Eventbrite now. General admission is $12 and box seats are $18 before tax. Starting on August 29th, general admission tickets will be $15 and box seats will be $20 before tax. Thank you from the Recreation Department. We look forward to seeing you all at these upcoming events.

Thank you. Item 6, Mayor Pro Tempore designation for City Charter Article 2, Section 8, Mayor Pro Tempore. The Mayor shall designate a member of the Council as Mayor Pro Tempore. He shall serve in such capacity as a pleasure of the Mayor. The Mayor Pro Tempore shall perform the duties of the Mayor during his absence and or disability. I am appointing Maria Dillman as Mayor Pro Tempore. Next month, we are going to ICSC in San Diego, which is going to be around the... The grito for the Mexican party. So I am asking Mrs. Dillman to go represent my seat and the city of Douglas and scream as loud as she can during the grito. So congratulations. And I know you'll, you'll do us proud, Mrs. Dillman.

Thank you, Mayor.

And we'll take the picture afterwards. When everybody leaves, because I'm not photogenic. Item seven, Mayor and Council Member updates and or reports. Mrs. Pedrigal? Yes.

Mayor, I had the opportunity to attend a meet and greet at Ministerios Amistad here in Douglas on 3rd Street. It was very well attended. Over 30 people were there. And there was many different comments that were made. And I'm going to only touch on one because different people will address the others. But one of the big ones was... or it was a complaint that was shared is that businesses that are trying to open in Douglas are having difficulty with city members and they were asking that why can't the city be a little bit more encouraging and working with people when they want to open businesses instead of creating obstacles. So I asked that, you know, if they were interested, they needed to come to the meeting and present those issues. But those were some of the, that was one of the big ones that was brought up at that time. But I do want to share, it was well attended. And as you see here tonight, we're getting quite a bit more attendance at our meeting. So these meetings that we are going out and meeting with the constituents of Douglas, I believe are very, um, Very well. Accepted by the community and the participation has been very well. Accepted. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Montano.

Just a couple of days. I this this couple of weeks ago, I took the city manager and the deputy city manager around my work so they could see for themselves. the needs of the board. I took them around pretty much the whole area, all the way from Pan American all the way to Aeroflot Road, just so they could see for themselves the needs. So a lot of good came of that. They are addressing a lot of the issues that were pointed out. And unfortunately, a lot of those issues also take a lot of money. So those are on the list for a little bit of a more of a long-term solutions. Um, first I, I should have done this first. I wanted to congratulate the, the Douglas junior division, 2026 state champions, uh, for representing us, uh, in the regional tournament in Bend, Oregon. Uh, if you guys, I watched the games, if you guys watched him, uh, they were heartbreaking. They, they won, they won a one and lost two, but those losses where. heartbreaking like i said uh so congratulations to them i'm i'm almost positive here in the next couple years we'll we'll have a couple of uh state championships in high school with these kids uh if you see them play you'll you'll know why um also they they they invited us i don't know who they invited but they invited me to an appreciation dinner for those that helped with uh with uh with the donations and making their trip possible. So I thank them for the invitation. They gave the city of Douglas a picture with a little plaque as a thank you. They also gave them to the Lions Club and the Douglas Golf and Social Clubs who also donated to their cause. A couple of golf things, and since now the back, Back nine is open. We're having the Labor Day tournament September 5th, 6th, and 7th. So far, we have 124 golfers that have signed up for that three-day tournament. So I'd say maybe half, maybe a little less than half are coming from out of town. So that's a big positive for the city. We also had a like a golf match kind of with Safford a couple of weeks ago. And they brought 34 people. So they come and eat at our restaurants, they drink at our bars. And so the investment for the back nine is already paying dividends. So I know some people don't like it, but it's starting to work out. What else do I have? I think that was it, so thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Ledasso.

Okay, so I've received several concerns from constituents regarding the road conditions since the recent monsoon storms, including potholes, erosion, habitation, and debris. So I've been taking photos of all those places where they need to prepare them. I also want to recognize the police force crew for the city since right after the storm, I've seen a lot of downed trees. And by the next day, they're already chopping them up and hauling them away. Also, I want to congratulate the APS crew for replacing the damaged bolts and restoring power quickly. Last week, I know some of this, at least 13th Street over by Van Buren, they were out of power for almost 12 hours. And also, I'm glad to see that the asphalt plant is near completion, which will give the city an important tool to begin addressing the repairing of roads. There's a lot of work to do, but I appreciate the city for having a good response.

Thank you, Mr. Shelton.

Jose took a couple of my points away already. Sorry, but I'm going to go first. I've had friends from El Frida and Bisbee call me and they've been very excited now to come back and golf in Douglas instead of going to Sierra Vista or Wilcox. So that's once again, the more people we get in, the more times they go to one of our Mexican restaurants and enjoy lunch or dinner. And then I like to congratulate the coaches and the players that went to represent not only Douglas, but the Southwest and Arizona and big, then Oregon. And then the other thing is I've had a number of people now asking me about the streets. When are we going to start, you know, paving our streets again? So, and one thing I like to note though, you can go to Tucson or even to Sierra Vista in many places, their streets are worse than ours. And you get back into neighborhoods and so forth. But anyway, I think Douglas is on the verge now of doing some great things. So thank you.

Take that service then, Tucson. Mr. Dillman.

I wanted to thank Thunder Mountain Wrestling again for another successful event. Their attendance continues to grow each time we have this event. Although this time I think it was because the mayor entered into the ring and was also a commentator. So I got my wish that he was actually in the ring. And... They mentioned that their next event is going to be in October and it's going to be even bigger than it was this time. So remember, general admission is always free. There's a hot dog vendor. You can bring in your own food and drink if you choose and the kids enjoy it. So if you want to do something on a Saturday and it's free, go do to the Thunder Mountain Wrestling because it's really entertaining. Also, I attended the Mayor's and Manager's Luncheon. We were honored with several special guests, Congressman Andy Biggs, Representative Juan Siscomani, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rawlins. She announced that Cochise County will receive $25 million for a screw worm distribution center, which is a great opportunity for Cochise County. They all spoke highly of our area, and they know great things are going to happen here in this area, and they're very, very excited. interested to help and be there for us if we need them. And as Ms. Pedregos said, we attended a town hall and we thank Misterios Amistad for hosting the event. A couple of things that I wanted to touch on that were some concerns. Some of the constituents addressed the Aquatic Center and the 8th Street Park pool. their perception is that the pools are down more than they are open and they suggested maybe having extra parts on hand so that the repairs can be done more quickly than having to wait for parts to be ordered and shipped but they do also know that sometimes it is a big item that we don't have like a pump or something like that but overall they would like to see the pools just more and more active than downtime. And also a constituent mentioned about a time capsule that's buried under the flagpole at the art gallery or in that vicinity. It was requested to be open during 4th of July festivities, but for whatever reason it didn't happen. I suggested maybe we could uncover and reveal that after the Veterans Day parade, since we are still celebrating America's 250th. I would like to ask city staff to contact Becky Castillo and maybe follow up with her. Becky mentioned that she was part of the committee 50 years ago when the time capsule was buried. Mayor and I had the opportunity to have lunch at Dark and visit with the members. I found out that Dark serves around 125 lunches every day, which includes the meals that are served at Dark and also Meals on Wheels. That is a very, very good service for our community. And if you eat there, lunch is free. They do accept donations, but lunch is free. And we had a really good time. Good meal. Stop by the dark if you would like to have lunch and they are open for breakfast. We do plan to have two town halls at the dark facility in the near future to hear from our seniors and what activities they would like to see and be part of. So be looking out for that. And that's all I have.

Thank you, Mr. Acosta.

Yeah, just real quick since other... Councilman already talked about the Douglas Little League again. Congratulations to the young man for representing Douglas. I hope your experience takes you very far in your future. Also, the golf course at Beck Pine is up and running because I live there. So the traffic has increased and it's looking great. So I want to thank the the golf course supervisor, Dominic, for a job well done. I also want to commend the Public Works because of the monsoon storms. I do see a quick reaction the following day, especially with downed trees. So I want to commend the city of Douglas Public Works. That's it.

Thank you. I wanted to announce I will be meeting with Adriana Romero tomorrow. They're going to have, well, Douglas is now going to have a free community magazine. So it's not going to be technically a newspaper, but we'll be working together as far as city, county, and then really promoting and marketing our city. And most importantly, letting our constituents know what's happening in our city. So I'd like to see, you know, work with the Bambi Foundation and and Adriana to see, you know, how can we distribute those? I mean, just having them here at City Hall and giving them away isn't good enough. So maybe we could get donations. Maybe we could do something where we can mail it out to everybody. That way everybody has it. And that way they're informed. And it's also going to have some Spanish in it. So it's going to try to be as bilingual as possible. Like it was mentioned, the back nine reopening, it's been a huge success so far. They even tagged me in a picture that for the first time in a long time, the golf course has been full. So that's very good to see. And we're just getting started on fixing up the clubhouse. The Veterans Fair was also a very good resource for our veterans. And we're looking to do that next year too and help out in any way that we can. We did canvass the election inside a week. I think we, I don't know what happened, but it was supposed to have at least the same timeline as the county to give us that, but it didn't go to the state. So, well, congratulations to those who are going to be in the office. Is it congratulations or should we say we're sorry for the decision that you made? Ms. Kramer is here. I don't think the other two are here, so. But she was even at our town hall. So I'm very grateful that she makes all these events so she can hear from the public. As it was mentioned, the mayor-manager luncheon was a huge success. And I just want to say this publicly on how it happened. So Congressman Biggs called City Hall, called our staff and said, hey, I want to take a tour. of the port. Then Vice President Vance was supposed to be in Oro Valley, and he said, hey, I can't make it to Douglas that day. Have the mayor go up and be my guest. And then Vice President canceled for something going on with Iran. I don't know if you've all heard about it. But then... I said, hey, I'll go up there. I'll go up there and visit you. And I did invite him as my guest here for the mayor manager luncheon to talk as a sitting congressman. And then he invited his friends, Secretary Rollins, who announced the screwworm, which I'm sure the supervisor is going to speak about right now. And it's also going to create jobs. And I'll let her take on that. But again, it's just the publicity. It's just Washington talking about us. It's easy for Washington to give us money. But when they actually see our situation, then they know firsthand what we need. And that's very important. Most importantly, I want to also thank thanks to our staff and our first responders, because they were out in the sun taking care of us, taking care of the congressman, taking care of the secretary as security. So they were very much appreciated. The town hall was a success. It was me, myself, Congress, Congress. I'm getting ahead of myself. Councilwoman Pedrigal and Mayor Pro Temp-Dillman. We did have a lot of community concerns, a lot of concerns about how the city runs. So I'm going to meet with staff to see what we can do about those. So then I'll bring a report on that for next month. As it was mentioned, dark, we had lunch out there. The breakfast you do pay for, the lunch is free. And they also do distribution of the commodities from the food bank. So instead of waiting out there in line at the food bank and getting your box, you can go eat breakfast very cheap or eat a free lunch and they give you what you would be getting at the food bank. So it's very much convenient for our seniors. And they really wanted to talk about because we've been having discussions on a senior center. So the purpose of the town hall which I'm inviting council to also be a part if they can, one in the morning, one in the evening, is try to see how we can collaborate with DARK. If they're gonna do breakfast and they're gonna have activities and they're gonna have a free lunch, maybe we can have our own community center with senior activities in the afternoon and in the evening, because a lot of our elderly stay home, a lot of the times and they watch the news and it's very depressing. They want to be anywhere but home. They want to be around people. So we're going to be working together. The purpose of it is to hear from the constituents, come back and talk with Dark to see how we can work together and then implement it in a collaboration. Like Ms. Dillman said, the Thunder Mountain Wrestling event, I was, I think, number 16 in the Thunder Rumble. And I did throw one person out. Well, actually two people. I threw one wrestler out and then I threw myself out because then they all wanted to jump me and beat me up. And I was like five or six of them. And there was somebody who was very excited cheering on the wrestlers to beat me up. I'm not going to say who. I'm just going to point at her. But it was very fun. Again, it's something free, something for the community. So the next one is October 24th. It was supposed to be at Huber Middle School, but I believe there's some weather issues with the court. So they have moved it to the Douglas High School gym, October 24th. I want to congratulate Mike Sexton and his team. or the food bank reopening, took a little quick tour. They expedite everything. So I mean, if you needed some food, if you need help, they don't turn anybody away. You're going to get a ticket, then you're going to go around the building. They're going to give you a box. You're not even going to have to come in. They just give you everything, and then you could go on your way. So there's not going to be that much waiting out in the elements. As it was mentioned, I'm very proud of Little League. When do you get to go to Bend, Oregon? You're probably never going to go again because you're probably going to think LA, San Diego, somewhere around. So my thing is I hope the kids had fun, and I hope they got a taste of something outside of Douglas. So there's a whole different world outside of Douglas, and most of all, we're very proud of them. I do have a request, mostly for our legal. I did get tagged in a few posts on Facebook because they still see the block camera. So if we could get an update on that for next meeting or something that we could post online for our constituents. I did forward an email to legal July 8th and have not gotten an answer. So we just need something for the public because they're very worried about COVID. the perception and everything that they hear. So if we could get an update on the flock cameras, that'd be appreciated. Next item, item eight, reading of proclamations. So Mr. Shelton is gonna do me the favor because we have three proclamations and I have to read the consent. So he's gonna read on by Mr. Shelton.

Proclamation. There as Douglas, Arizona is a rural community with rich natural landscapes. a strong cultural heritage and a tradition of innovation, resilience, and community engagement. And whereas science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics and critical to individuals for success in the 21st century workforce and to supporting a strong and competitive economy. And whereas Arizona's experience in a significant economic growth with projections of hundreds of thousands of new jobs by 2030 and continued expansion in high skill high-wage industries, including advanced manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and technology, and whereas the state of Arizona continues to attract major investments in advanced of manufacturing, semiconductor production, renewable energy, and bioscience creating demand for both highly technical careers and assistional skill traits. And whereas rural communities such as Douglas requires intentional investment in education, workforce development and access to STEM opportunities to ensure residents can participate equitably in economic growth. And whereas promoting STEM engagement strengthens pathways not only into science and technology careers, but also into skilled trades, agriculture, entrepreneurship, and creative industries that support a resilient and diversified rural economy. And whereas increasing awareness, enthusiasm, fostering curiosity, creativity and long learning through formal education and community-based experiences from STEM fields, supports workforce readiness, economic mobility, and innovation for current and future generations of Douglas and Cochise County residents. Now, Therefore, I, Jose Mayor, and on behalf of the City Council do hereby proclaim the month of September 2026 as STEM month. And Further encourage residents, educators, businesses, community organizations, and public agencies to recognize and celebrate STEM month by, first thing, promoting awareness of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematicians' education and career opportunities. supporting programs and activities that inspire curiosity, innovation, and lifelong learning, encouraging pathways into both advanced technology careers and essential skills trades, and highlighting the unique natural culture and scientific assets of Cochise County. And this was brought by Jose Mayor of Douglas on the 12th day of August, 2026.

Thank you, Mr. Shelton. It was education. So he was a big part of the educational community in Douglas. So thank you for reading that. The next one is Coaches College Trio Day. Whereas Congress first declared National Trio Day in 1986 to recognize the achievements of the federal trio programs and to call attention to the importance of educational opportunity and opportunity in the United States. And whereas 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of National Trio Day, highlighting the federal TRIO programs, which were established to ensure that students from low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students, students with disabilities, and military veterans can access, persist in, and graduate from post-secondary education. And whereas more than 6 million TRIO alumni have earned college degrees, launched careers, supported families, enriched communities, and contributed to the economic and civic strength of our nation, And whereas TRIO programs provide comprehensive academic, financial, social, and career supportive support services that empower students to succeed faster leadership and service, strengthen college completion and workforce participation. And whereas after 25 years of the TRIO program, serving Cochise College students, Cochise College Trio Dacers, as a day of celebration, reflection, and community service, highlighting student achievement and reaffirming our shared commitment to expanding educational opportunity for future generations. Whereas the Trio Student Support Services Program continues to serve students from Douglas through inclusive advising and programming services that support retention, graduation, and transfer to state universities. Now, therefore, I, Jose Rijalva, and mayor of the city, mayor, and on behalf of the city of Douglas Council, do hereby proclaim August 28, 2026, as Cochise College Trio Day in the city of Douglas, Arizona, and encourage all residents to join me in honoring trio students, alumni, and educators, recognizing their contributions to our communities, and supporting educational access and success for all. And we actually have two, so... Whoever wants to come up, if both of you want to come up. I know I don't have to ask Gabe twice to come up. He's just waiting once. You all want to say a few words.

Good evening, Mayor Grigalva, council members. My name is Angie Vega. I'm the director, the current TRIO director of the TRIO Student Support Services Program. We're very fortunate to, for 25 years, have been here at the Douglas campus at Cochise College. It is a very competitive grant program. federal funded process so because of that like we wanted to make sure that we took a day to really celebrate all of our trio scholars they really do contribute to the city of douglas i'm very happy and very honored to see a lot of community members here that have supported our trio scholars throughout their educational journey and they're giving back being educators being entrepreneurs in any way that they can as well too. So it's going to be an amazing day to celebrate all of them. We're flying in some of them as well too, to share their transformative journey and their achievements. I will leave your official invitations with the city clerk and some pamphlets so you can kind of see. So I hope you guys are able to join us.

Thank you.

I'll just add to say thank you to the city for the continued partnership with the college.

And as the director of the program, Angie, shared, it's a very competitive program.

And as you know, the last couple of years, grant programs have been under a microscope. And unfortunately, some schools did not receive it. In a very short timeline, we were able to submit a grant to receive it for an additional five years. to guarantee that the TRIO program will be at the Cochise College Douglas campus for 30 years. Students that are in the TRIO program at the Douglas campus have higher retention, graduation, and transfer rates. And we set the bar very high for the success of those students. And so we're very excited to be celebrating them. And we welcome you to join the celebration on August 28th. Thank you.

Free food? Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Awesome.

Next proclamation, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Whereas ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women in the United States, and the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2026, approximately 21,010 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 12,450 will die from the disease nationwide, including an estimated 510 new cases and 330 deaths in Arizona. And whereas a woman's lifetime of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is approximately one in 91 and her lifetime risk is dying from the disease is approximately one in 143. And whereas due to vague nonspecific symptoms and the absence of a reliable early detection test, the majority of women are diagnosed at stage three or later. when the cancer has already spread beyond the ovaries and whereas although the five-year survival rate for stage one ovarian cancer exceeds 90 percent only 15 percent of cases are diagnosed at this early stage for those diagnosed in later stages the five-year survival rate drops below 30 percent and whereas while screening tools such as mammograms and pap tests exists for breast and cervical cancers. No equivalent screening test exists for ovarian cancer, making awareness of symptoms and risk factors essential for early intervention. And whereas increasing public education about ovarian cancer can help save lives by promoting earlier diagnosis, supporting access to genealogy. I had the nurse, the nurse practitioner. Thank you, sir, the doctor. and oncology care and encouraging research funding for better detection and treatment options. And whereas during the month of September, the city of Douglas joined survivors, families, healthcare professionals, advocacy organizations, and all those committed to raising awareness, remembering lives lost and offering hope for a future with better outcomes and ultimately a cure. Now, therefore, I, Jose Grijalva, Mayor, and on behalf of the City of Douglas Council, do hereby proclaim the month of September 2026 as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Douglas, Arizona, encourage all residents to participate in awareness activities where TEAL and support and engage in conversations that help save lives and support the thousands of families affected by this devastating disease. And thank you all who take part in, like my colleague right here who takes part in this and prevention and everything that he does. So thank everybody involved. Item nine, governmental updates. Is she here?

Yes.

She got up before I even said her name.

I'm Kathleen Gomez, Supervisor of District 2. Apologize for my attire, but I've been out in the County Roads, Geronimo Trail, and Leslie Canyon to see what happened with that rain that we had last week. So that was what they're calling now a flood of 10,000 years. You usually plan for one in 100, one in 1,000. This was one in 10,000. It took out Geronimo Bridge, which was a bridge that was built in 1940. Actually, we were out there with people who were building the wall. because there's no access, but they're letting us, everybody use the road along the border wall. But it was unbelievable. It blew out six gates in that wall. So it, as they explained to me, this was 5.6 inches of water in two hours in the same place. So that is what is so unusual is that it stayed in that location for two hours. So if the bridge is gone, it would cost $7 million to replace it. So we're going to have to do one of those, you know, just go down. And then when you're going to see a sign when it's raining, you can't go through because we just don't have $7 million to fix that bridge. But they pulled it out back in the day to use concrete and huge rocks. And that's how that bridge has maintained and sustained itself for so many years. Meanwhile, that same night up in Leslie, up Leslie Canyon Road, you know, that lake where we were all supposed to be, you know, squatter skiing and all that, that was left from that crazy storm. development that happened in the 60s and 70s, that filled up, which has never been done before. And so it leaked. And so that's the water went from there south, crossed over Leslie Canyon Road into Glen Road. And then that's why all the people had a flood there. We are working to actually have to level it. Because what happened, that developer built such a ramp to bring your boats up and then to launch them that it's about 20 feet high. So what happens is when the water is supposed to flow and the wash that goes right along it, it keeps it from doing that. So this 5.6 inches and two hours in that same location Just flooded that, it went over, it leaked, and it went out. But, you know, nobody, they had a lot of flooding. So that's where I was from 1230 until now, looking at what we're going to do in the future to try. We have a good answer, so probably within the year we'll fix that up in Leslie Canyon. We have to fix the drawing trail, the border patrol, and the people building wall, like, in the next week or so. So we have to dynamite it, and we have to bulldoze it. So it was amazing. Sometimes when we get rain, this is what happens. But again, as I've been told, this was a flood of 10,000 years. So hopefully we don't have another one that will be another 10,000 years because then just prepare. And we have sandbags. The county provides sandbags. So if anybody needs that or the city needs that, please reach out to me and I'll get you in touch with our public works. so the other big thing of course is the screwworm so ago when they closed the order to cattle i started talking to the ranchers and um i don't know how kind of organically the idea came why don't we talk about bringing back the distribution center that was here in the 70s 60s So I worked on it. I went up to D.C., talked to Grijalva and Siscomani. That's Congress Adelita Grijalva, not to be confused with our mayor. And actually Siscomani said, get some support from regular people, from ranchers, from organizations. and send them to me and send them to everyone. So I did. I got the Eastern Arizona counties, the mayors from Wilcox, Douglas, and Bisbee, a lot of associations in New Mexico, as well as the Arizona Cattlemen's Association and the Cochise Grand Cattlemen's Association. So probably maybe around 15 letters of support, send them to everyone, talked about it constantly. And at that luncheon, which, you know, our screen distribution, we had actually developed a white paper the weekend before with USDA to propose it to the White House and to Rollins. We got it done on Monday. We didn't know she was coming. We were able to handle hand it to her on Tuesday. And the biggest thing that I think swayed for our support is that Douglas will be able to cover 500 aeronautical miles, which means Chihuahua, Sonoma, California, Arizona, New Mexico will be covered with this groom distribution, which is A lot of people still remember, I know a lot of people that worked out at the distribution center, the boxes will be dropped on ranches, and then the larva spills out, you get the male flies, they're sterile, and then we don't get any more flies. But it's serious not only for the cattle, but for wildlife. and for your pets. And just to let you all know, about two weeks ago, Florida passed a declaration that five counties in Arizona cannot bring their pets into Florida unless they have a certification from the vet that they don't have screwworm within 10 days of your travel. And that's Cochise, Santa Cruz, Pinal, Pima, Graham, and Grimley. So there might be six. So that's important to know. It's important to know that if you take your pets into Mexico, you won't be able to bring them back. So the screw room, and I don't know if this is true, but I heard it from several people that a couple guys, one had gotten their tooth pulled, they had partied, slept on the beach in Rocky Flats, Rocky Point, woke up, someone was bothering them, went to the dentist, and they had larvae, screw room larvae, in their mouth so it affects people also so this is so important i think you know both uh susan kramer and and tear and councilwoman dillman was there to see we were shocked when she came in and she said you got it 25 million dollars i assure you it's not going to take that kind of money um and we're basically doing everything we can to um i mean we can't give it away but we're I'm not charging them very much. They're on the airport. We don't have neighbors. We have 2,800 acres. They can either work within the hangar, bring modulars. There's so many options. And I've just told them, do what you need to do to get this going. So I'm really proud that we've been able to do this. It's about 30 to 40 jobs. Probably 10 of those will be scientists and people who are brought from, say, Texas to ministry. But we have at least, I would say, 20 to 20, 30 jobs that will be local for our community. So that's big. Plus, as the mayor said, just having that national uh kind of view on us has been nothing but positive with the cattle pens opening up on august the 25th and i'd like to mention that it's just sonora cattle because they've done such an incredible job of keeping away the screwworm that that's what's going to be led into to this side and there's going to be so many processes they're going to be dipped on the mexican side there's like three different processes then they're going to be over on this side checked um you know going to be monitored So I feel very, very comfortable, and so do the ranchers in this community that the government is gonna be doing to make sure that it doesn't cross over here. So I'm very excited about this, and so I just wanted to let you all know. The other thing I wanted to talk to you about was the Opportunity Zone. So I'll be reaching out to you. I talked to Hedge Fund. They're in New York and in Phoenix, and they basically help communities pitch their town or their county. So I'm going to be reaching out to you all maybe at lunchtime sometime. to have them give us a Opportunity Zone 101, how to pitch your county, how to get everything set up. Because the one key thing I heard was the more you have everything ready for these guys to go, they have 10 years to be able to get this kind of tax break, have it all completed before, and we should start pitching in the fall. So January 1, when these zones start kicking in, we're ready to go. So I'll be reaching out to you all about that. And the one thing that came out of that meeting is it's very important to have your building codes up to the most recent standards, which would be the international codes of 2024. The county just adopted them. Every other municipality has adopted them, but Douglas, you guys are in 2006. So I would say you need to do that at your next council meeting or whatever you need to do to bring up your codes, building codes to international codes 2024. So that we can then be ready because they said, you know, that opportunity zone is in Douglas and some of it is in the county. So if you have something that's kind of in the county and maybe they're gonna come into the city to have that kind of a difference in your building codes would definitely halt the project. So we won't want that to happen. um the other thing we also are going to contribute to dr romero's publication cochise county health department has a lot a lot of programs so we'll make sure to contribute to that and i know the mayor's like keep it short kathleen but if i keep it short then you know you have a problem i'm not doing my job so um with that i will say one thing i've had some people say to me what are you doing for douglas I've gotten emailed that. So I don't know if you knew, the Roundtable is a program that the Service to Herald has. And you could even go on there if you wanted to. And last week, it was Lori Zucker, our county attorney, was a loser, but Douglas was a winner. And it was because of the school, and that was something that happened, I guess, with your new captain. And I would say go and read it. It's August the 2nd, the Roundtable, the Service to Herald. And I hate to tout or, you know, to, what do you want to say, promote myself, but sometimes some people say you've got to in this job so people know you're doing something. Terry Joe said this. Siskamani was really important. And Siskamani does his district stops right halfway into BDI. He didn't have to come here. He didn't have to do what he did. He gave $9 million for the runways at BDI to be upgraded, plus helped us get the school room distribution. But she says, Siskalani worked hard for this. He had help from Supervisor Gomez. Gomez also deserves credit here. She has spent her time on pushing Douglass, talking Douglass, and Douglass exists, and insisting the Burke city should not be treated like an underthought. and that's what i've done i do also represent the rest of my district but i feel that douglas has been left behind for so many decades that that have to make them that we have the second largest city in this county sixteen thousand we're gonna need a hospital just an example And that's very close to fruition. And keep my fingers crossed. I don't want to jinx me. But so I just want you to know I'm working really hard for this community. This is where I'm from. I believe in it. And like the mayor with his proclamation, I think we only have great things to come. So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. We're going to do what Terry did. Let's clap. There you go. PB, Harmon Zuckerman, Next time, keep it short let's keep it shorter let's every time they get tried to do short um next item person wishing to address the Council and writing or verbally on any item that on the agenda, I want to ask this very quick, I have. PB, Harmon Zuckerman, Someone speaking about a demo demolition of a swimming pool is that the majority of the people here. PB, Harmon Zuckerman, Well, I love a lot of the people here for that or. PB, Harmon Zuckerman, Okay. Oh, the majority. I'll let you speak first. Maria Vasquez.

Buenas tardes. Yo escribí todo para que no se me pasara nada a mí porque sé que el tiempo es corto. Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Maria Vasquez. Tengo ocho años viviendo en Sunspot. My address is 1860 Arrowhead Drive, here in Douglas, Arizona. My family and some community members came here. In March of this year, we made a request to Mayor Jose Grijalva at one of his meetings with the Douglas community, where we asked for help in some points and needs that we have in that area. which is the demolition of the pool that is disabled, garbage cleaning in landfills without owners, maintenance for the streets and two stops, many drivers already take it as a race track and have caused accidents killing pets that cross the street where it could be a child or a person of the third age. I don't know if you know that part, I imagine you do, because it's years old. El 22 de junio recibimos una carta certificada dando respuesta a la petición. Prácticamente para nosotros fue un castigo por haber solicitado esa petición. A lo menos así lo tomamos nosotros. Para la mejora de nuestro vecindario. Fue de parte de Carlos Valdez y Carl Rockwell. La verdad, yo hablé con Carlos y nos notificaron que nosotros somos dueños de esa propiedad. I bought my plot on March 17, 2022, but I already lived renting years ago in the county. In the document, it doesn't say that I'm the owner of that albergue. Ustedes determinaron que es una amenaza significativa para la salud. De hecho, les puse unas fotos de la alberca y de la basura y de las calles y de las trailas que están deshabilitadas, que están deshechas, la verdad. Somos pocas las familias las que vivimos ahí. Y la seguridad pública. Y como ha sido declarada una molestia pública, y ustedes quieren que en esos 30 días, cuando nosotros recibimos esa carta, que nosotros como dueños voluntariamente y con nuestros propios recursos lo solucionamos, cosa que no estamos de acuerdo. Ya que todos pagamos nuestros impuestos. Cuando yo personalmente hablé con Carlos Valdés, bueno, por teléfono, le propuse la opción de donar el terreno a la ciudad. Pero él me contestó que esa no era una opción. Pero amablemente me dirigió al departamento de administrativo con el señor Luis Pedrosa. El señor Pedroza nos confirmó que nos daría otros 30 días para ver qué solución nos daba. Ya sea que nosotros limpiáramos, rentáramos maquinaria, rent machinery to solve it. But I think you have the resources, you have the machinery, and you have the labor. I think that would not be an option either, since there is too much danger with rusty rods, there are heavy concrete, and the truth is, it is not that easy. Also, you could do it, and the cost, approximately $38,000, lo que decía la carta. Nos cobrarían 500 dólares por dueño para demolerla en esa, en la comunidad.

María, tuvo tres minutos, pero el problema, and I'm going to say this in English and Spanish. They, lo primero lo voy a decir en español. Si hemos hablado They extended the 30 days, but we have... I'm asking the staff to have a meeting with all of us there to talk to you, that we have three minutes here to hear from you. He has already gone there, he has seen the pool, and we have to do something, because it is a danger for the community. And then you are so close to a school. In fact, we are in the center of the city. pero tenemos un límite con el call of the public, pero... Sí, está. So, what I did... Sí, mi propuesta nada más.

La propuesta es donar el terreno. En la escritura que yo tengo, que me dio el condado, no dice que somos propietarios. Todos estamos de acuerdo en donarlas. Si ustedes quieren ir, ahí los esperamos. Avísenos para juntar a la gente. Visítenos. I think it's not a safe zone, not even for people of the third age. There are people who live on government resources. There are people of the third age. There are 84 plots. Of the 84, only 42 are regulated. Even if it's $500, people can't afford it. And please help us. I came here with the hope. I live very comfortably here. We're in America, I've always said that. And it's not possible for us to live in those conditions, really. And I would appreciate if you could listen to us and take care of us, because there are many needs in that area.

And we'll do maybe like a town hall there or have council go and see. It's different just by seeing, driving around that you actually have to get down. I did have a resident from there give me stories and they're not pleasant and it's very concerning. So there's something we have to do. Even they're willing to donate their portion of the land, which that was what the petition was for. that's when I had the town hall on third street and staff said, no, that's not the option we go with. But I think we need to look at all the options and I'd like to direct legal to see what options we have for us to make the decision. I think we represent the people. If the people want a certain avenue through it, I think that should be our decision and respectfully not staff. So if we could get legal, all our options and also have some type of drive-through there or a town hall there. Next, also Roscoe.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. My name is Elsa Orozco. I work with Arizona Border Alliance, a non-profit here in Douglas, but I'm also here as a parent and I'm here to thank you guys very much for the kind donations that you guys did, that you guys gave the our kids to go play in Bend, Oregon. So I'm the mother of one of those kids that went to Bend, Oregon. It's his last year in Little League and he got to live this experience for the first time and hopefully you'll be able to play more at high school. But yeah, thank you so much City of Douglas and Kathleen Gomez with Cochise County Health Department. I mean, yeah, Cochise County and just the whole community in general. Thank you guys for your contributions and your help. I did. You guys have one of these, and it's just an expense report like I promised. Arizona Border Alliance was a fiscal sponsor for the parents for the youth for Douglas Little League, because there were situations where they couldn't receive funds from certain people or certain organizations. So we served as a fiscal sponsor. And so I'm here to give a report on what was spent with those funds from Cochise County, the city of Douglas, and some private donations from the Blueberry Cafe. What was the other one? I forgot. Liberty Cafe, a restaurant in Sierra Vista. And...

Hold on.

Douglas Market. Volante. Volante from Sierra Vista. So those are the funds that we got through Arizona Border Alliance. And just so you can see, and I have very little time, so it's just with those funds, we paid for flights to Bend, Oregon, and we paid for lodging. They had to change because the lodging was like, there was no places for them to stay, so they had to like We had to rent different places. So in total, it was $12,185 with 25 cents. We got a total of... 14,750 donated through by city of Douglas and the county and the other private donors, private donors, I'm sorry. So the funds that were left, we did return some to the city of Douglas and it was paid by check. I delivered it personally and the rest is being held by Arizona Border Alliance waiting for you guys to tell us what to do with that money. So we have $750 in our account. My CEO did say and suggested that we could save it for the next season for Douglas Little League, or we can use it for any youth funds or activities that anyone wants to do. So we're open to any suggestions.

Thank you. And we'll collaborate on that. But thank you for coming in because that's one of the conditions we asked about the donation to come and just at least give us this in this public record. So then what you gave us, so then the people could say it was used for what it was supposed to be used for.

I did also add, sorry, I did also add the Little League Expense Report. I asked Cynthia Calhoun, who's the treasurer, to send me one. So the report's there. I'm just not going to report on it.

Thank you. I appreciate it. We do have a few more. Next, Carlos Fernandez.

Good evening. My name is Carlos Fernandez. Many of you know me as chairman of the Douglas International Port Authority. What you might not realize is I'm also CEO and BFNS of BFNS. BF&S is an aerospace and medical company. We're a manufacturing company. We manufacture high precision electric motors, slip rings, wire harnesses, and high precision machine parts. Some of our end customers are GE Aerospace, GE Medical, Honeywell, and Boeing. We have four separate locations with close to 500 employees in Mexico and over 20 here in Douglas. Of those 500, they include over 25 degreed engineers, 30 degree professional business administrators and 21 managers and supervisors. Our world-class manufacturing facilities are state-of-the-art, surpassing most of our clients in the US. We are a very successful supplier of precision parts for over 25 years. And strategically, we've grown every single year. Our products go to clients in England, Germany, Italy, India, Canada, as well as New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and in California. We are truly a global company. When our clients come, which they come very often, they stay at our local hotels and they eat at our local restaurants. Because of the instability of the global trade environment, including tariffs and wars, BF&S is looking to open a manufacturing facility here in the United States. We're exploring many options, including Tucson and Las Cruces. By the way, New Mexico has a 20% less lower minimum wage than here in Arizona. However, we decided to open our operations here in Douglas. Therefore, I have put a bid for the food city building. We're looking to invest over $1 million into that building over the next 24 months. This world-class manufacturing facility will have assembly, testing, engineering, accounting, human resources, purchasing, and all sorts of administration. Mr. Mayor, I submitted my bid back in March to explain how this factory is going to employ up to 100 people. In the past five months, I've given four different presentations to different members of the council. I'm giving two separate factory tours. You have not made yourself available for any of them. Nor have you reached out to me to ask about me about this incredible opportunity for Douglasson. Because you have not reached out to me once, I went to your last town hall meeting and talked to you after the meeting. Your response was, there's nothing you can really do to help me move this forward. However, at that same town hall meeting, you and council person Federico listened to everybody's complaints and comments and said, things are going to change because there's a new sheriff in town. However, this new sheriff has no interest in great jobs and a significant economic boom for Douglas. Why would you spend taxpayer money going to South Mexico? to talk to a plastic recycling company, which is a very dirty industry. And you won't sit down with somebody in aerospace here in your own backyard. That's time. I know you, but you let everybody else speak. So let me finish.

No, that's time. Really? That's time. Yes. And I'm going to answer your accusation here. The reason I don't go over there is because I don't want to send an NDA.

There's no NDA to talk to me.

They all signed NDAs. Thank you. You never talked to me. Thank you. Next is Diana Lamour.

i'm sorry are we on cons um call to the public thank you if you have a request for consent this is where you can make it just wanted to just wanted to make sure um all right yes i i wanted to uh speak to a couple of things one is consent agenda that um I feel like the consent agenda is just getting so big that we don't have an opportunity to hear from council members or to listen to discussion and your deliberations on issues. And that's the point. um for us to understand why you choose to vote the way you vote and what your opinion is so i really want to impress upon our council members to please take that opportunity it's it's what um you're here for and it's why a lot of us are here we want to know why you vote the way you do um and consent agenda should really be limited to um issues that you know doesn't um create a lot of discussion um i appreciate uh mr mayor um uh referencing the flock cameras um i just want to reinforce that that the community is waiting to hear about uh the flock camera contract uh if that has been cancelled according to d flock uh online which is a public resource I believe 15 cameras are active, and it appeared that one or two more were activated since this discussion originated several months ago. In addition to Flock, if there are other ALPR devices that are going to be installed. I would also like to circle around to a question about data centers and to request that a moratorium on data centers in Douglas be imposed until appropriate guidelines could be established and that the public get an update on the airport, the airport sale, land usage, and whether or not a data center is being discussed for that property. Also, I just want to raise an issue about cars speeding down F and G and what I assume is Pan American. I hear it a lot and I just never see anyone being pulled over. So I'm just want to raise that safety concern as well as on F. The stop signs are very inorganic they don't have a natural rhythm to them and i have seen several times um people running thank you several times uh cars running stop signs at f and 14th street thank you thank you um and you did make uh right here on your page it says uh to pull item

11H, so just letting council know on your request on the agenda and that. And Mr., no, that was it. And if it's pulled, then I do have two speaker requests for that. Next item, item 11, discussion decision on approval of consent agenda items A through J, expenditures for the month of July, 2026, totaling $3,893,276.12. Meeting minutes for June 10th, July 8th, July 21st, July 22nd, and July 28th, 2026. Ratification of contract award to Native Network Inc. for municipal ISP and tower leasing management programs, RFQ number 2026-IT-006. Approval of additional 0.5% salary adjustment for police officers for fiscal year 2027. E, community funding request for home court Douglas. F, a community funding program request to Arizona Border Alliance for the 2026 Borderland Gravel Bike Race. G, resolution number 26-1745, a resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas Cochise County, Arizona, approving the Community Development Block Grant, CDBG, annual action plan fiscal year 2026 for the city of Douglas. Item H, resolution number 26-1746, a resolution of the mayor and council of the city of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, approving a minor general plan amendment to the city of Douglas general plan future land use map to redesignate approximately 1.68 acres located at the southeast corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue from the high density residential to commercial center and amending the general planned land use map. Item I, resolution number 26-1747, a resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas Cochise County, Arizona, accepting a sewer infrastructure easement from Freeport Minerals Corporation for constructing, operating, maintaining, repairing, replacing, and removing a sanitary sewer line and related facilities necessary to operate and maintain a sewer collection and transmission system over part of Freeport owned parcels 408-16-009B and 408-16-009C and authorizing the city manager to execute all necessary documents Item J, resolution number 26-1748, a resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of Cochise County, Douglas, of Douglas Cochise County, Arizona, authorizing the City of Douglas to enter into an amended intergovernmental agreement with the Douglas Unified School District, DUSD, for two school security officers, SSO, positions. And then also item K, which on the addendum agenda sent on August 11th, 2026, item K resolution number 26-1749, a resolution of the mayor and council of the city of Douglas Cochise County, Arizona, amending city Douglas policy number 2.01, dealing with travel policy for conducting official city business and also item L resolution number 26-1750, a resolution of the mayor and council of the city of Douglas Cochise County, Arizona, authorizing the city of Douglas to accept grant funding and then turn to an agreement with the Arizona Department of Homeland Security for a reimbursable grant in the amount of $38,012 for the purchase of enhanced body armor for the Douglas Police Department Special Response Team, SRT. May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda item? Mr. Montaño.

I move that the Mayor and Council approve the consent agenda items eight through L as listed.

Do I have a second? Second. Motion by Mr. Montaño, second by Mr. Shelton. Any discussion?

Yes, Mayor. This is like to clarify that the 5% approval was because it was from the beginning, it was intended that the police officers receive a 2%, not a 1.5 on that one. And then because I agree that we need to discuss a little bit more on these. So that one is that one in that. And then the native network. the award as it was shown to us. That is important because it's going to be the system for the backup for the internet that is a service provider. But not only that, it will also affect the citizens of Douglas in the future. So this is something that is much needed because in different areas, we don't get good service. So this is a good one. And then Let's see, the Border Alliance. F is the Border Alliance. And you know, these are those bikers that come in. They brought in a lot of revenue last year. And this time, it's even bigger and better. So also, this is some really good support from the community of Douglas. And then if you go down to the block grant, and if I understand this one, Is this the one where all the, which is also really awesome because we have a lot of vendors in the community That used to pay $50.

That's not it.

It's not it. Sorry. Okay. Which one?

This is what we talked about in the public hearing. To mention the ISP really quick, we're not competing against the cellular providers. This is going to be for our cops, for our first responders. We're going to really have our own internet service just in case there's any down from any company. We have our own. So we're not competing against any internet service providers. It would be nice, though, instead of pulling, it would be nice if the bike gravel race would give us a report after the race, just how many people came in and how much money was brought in, as best as they can. Go ahead.

And then the sewer infrastructure, that's because of the new port. And so that's something that has to be done. That's the easement there for them.

Mr. Mayor, if I may, you have a motion and a second and we can continue with the vote or you can pull one of the items for discussion. Is that right, Mr. Fitzgibbons?

Yeah, no, this is consent agenda. So we have a motion and a second.

Okay. Next time, let's take away the discussion on my notes here. But I don't think Mr. Pedrigal was discussing. I think she was just explaining what it was.

Highlighting, highlighting.

But is there any motion to pull anything? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedregal. Yes. Council Member Montano. Yes. Council Member Durazo. Yes. Council Member Shelton. Yes. Council Member Dillman.

Yes.

Council Member Acosta. Yes. Mr. Mayor.

Yes, motion passes. Item 12, discussion decision on approval. Item A, first reading of ordinance number 26-1237, an ordinance of the mayor and council of the city of Douglas Cochise County, Arizona, rezoning parcel approximately 1.6 acres of land located at the southeast corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue from multifamily residential MFR to general commercial GC and amending the official zoning district map, establishing servability of components of ordinance and establishing an effective date thereof. Ms. Gonzalez, you're back.

Mr. Mayor, members of the council, the Planning and Zoning Commission met on July 23rd, 2026 and approved a recommendation to the city council for the proposed rezoning of approximately 1.68 acres with assessor's parcel number 40916001B and a portion of 40916001C located at the southeast corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue in Douglas. The applicant, Rodrigo Soler, who is available by Zoom on behalf of Circle Case Stores, is requesting a zoning map amendment to the zoning district's map from multifamily residential, MFR, to general commercial, GC. This request is being processed concurrently with a minor general plan amendment to redesignate the property from high density residential to commercial center. Approval of the minor minor general plan amendment would establish the appropriate future land use designation while the requested rezoning would implement the designation through the city's zoning regulations. The surrounding area includes a mixture of commercial and residential zoning districts. The site is located and is at an established arterial intersection with access to existing public infrastructure and transportation facilities. The applicant proposes rezoning the property to general commercial to accommodate neighborhood serving commercial development consistent with the companion minor general plan amendment. Staff recommends that mayor and council approve without conditions finding that the proposed rezoning from multifamily residential to general commercial is consistent with the companion minor general plan amendment. compatible with surrounding development supported by public infrastructure and in furtherance of the city's long-range planning objectives.

Thank you. I have a motion to approve the placement of ordinance number 26-1237.

I move that the Mayor and Council approve the placement of ordinance number 26-1237 on its first reading by number and title.

Do you have a second?

Second.

Motion by Mr. Pedro, second by Mr. Montano. Any discussion?

Mayor Mrakas, Oh yes, Mr one thing I just have a question um you said that Mr solar from behalf, on behalf of circle K made made the request, but he just said that they don't know an idea that does that make a difference or. Mayor Mrakas, Does it make no difference.

Mayor Mrakas, Mayor councilman montano the rezoning and the redesignation of the land use does not impact. If Circle K does not move forward with purchasing the property, the zoning designation and the land use designation would still remain consistent with what is approved tonight.

So it's kind of irrelevant of who makes the request. It's just the city's prerogative to do it?

Yes, sir.

Okay.

Thank you. Anyone else? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedregal? Yes. Council Member Montaño?

Yes.

Council Member Durazo. Yes. Council Member Shelton. Yes. Council Member Dillman. Yes. Council Member Aposta.

Yes.

Mr. Mayor.

Yes. Motion passes.

In honor of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, rezoning parcel approximately 1.68 acres of land located at the southeast corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue from multifamily residential MFR to general commercial GC and amending the official zoning district map, establishing several ability of components of ordinance and establishing an effective date thereof.

Thank you. Before I go on, I think there was confusion. Mr. Helfrich, you asked for 11H. That's why I asked if they were going to pull it to discuss. We're at 12. That had to do with the rezoning too, but now we're specifically on 12H. We'll go with the second reading and fill out a paper so you can speak on 12A. You have a motion to approve the first reading of ordinance number 26-12, number 26-1237.

Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Shelton.

I move the mayor and council approve the first reading of ordinance number 26-1237 and place it on its second reading by number and title only.

Do you have a second? Second. Motion by Mr. Shelton, second by Mr. Acosta. Any discussion? Well, they Mr. Hopper.

Audience would give me start.

feel free to give them to the clerk.

And then we'll miss running.

Basically, we're creating spot zoning.

which I was told that wasn't allowed. We need to hold the line on our commercial zone, which is east of the drainage easement. We definitely need a traffic study and I would hope, I know I've been working with Circle K since the 90s. And I know they have a site plan. And I know they figured out what to do. And the request is 1.6 acres. But the gentleman from Circle K said they want to rezone the whole parcel. So which is it? We're talking about a three, there's two parcels involved. And it's more than one of the parcels. So we're either talking about Reamending the amount of area that is going to be rezoned or we need to have an exhibit that shows the parcel in its entirety in some kind of legal fashion. We should talk about design that reflects Douglas. We should talk about signage. We should talk about, there's a lot of things that go into this. And now we're talking about the food city being that that's not up. Well, it does. It does. Because the other exhibit I put in there is showing a layout of the circle K on our prop on the food city property. The mayor in April 23 asked me to look at this site, because there was an improper zoning house built. And I did. And I basically told the city that the food city parcel has the opportunity of two paths. If you don't know what a pad is, the pad is a planned area development. essentially circle K's are pads. So we do have the opportunity to keep our zoning intact, do not amend it, Mayor Mrakas, keep the traffic down on that on the 15th and Florida intersection because we all know there's a traffic problem there and we can put it on the. Mayor Mrakas, site, thank you, I believe, thank you, Mr how.

Mayor Mrakas, This is just the first readings, we have a second reading, where you can. Mayor Mrakas, Thank you, thank you. Mayor Mrakas, Any discussion from Council.

Mayor Mrakas, Hearing none roll call, please, Mr Mayor, I do have one more citizen and 12 a as Dan alomar.

Thank you. Diane Lamar, 1303 F Avenue. Earlier when the subject came up, I didn't really get an answer to my questions, and maybe I won't. That might be understandable. I was wondering how the site was chosen. What was the process? Who reached out to who? If the school or the school board had been contacted, what was their response? Is there any concern if the school or the school board had no response, could that be because it's possible that the owner may be related to the president of the school board? I don't know, but it would be interesting to understand this a bit further. Also in terms of Circle K, is there any convenience stores? There's typically an increase in crime rate. So again, maybe I misread the map, but when I looked at the map, in that area, it indicated low to medium residential. So high residential, commercial, it's just questionable to me. And I would really appreciate understanding why each board member votes the way they vote and why there is no deliberation whatsoever happening about this and many other items that are on agendas uh so I don't know perhaps the owner uh could take the windfall from the sale of this property and reinvest it in the food City uh for a grocery store since that's what the citizens really want thank you thank you any discussion from Council

Hearing no, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedregal?

No.

Council Member Montaño? Yes. Council Member Durazo? Yes. Council Member Shelton?

Yes.

Council Member Dillman? Yes. Council Member Acosta?

Yes.

Mr. Mayor?

Yes. Motion passes.

In honor of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Fuches County, Arizona, rezoning parcel approximately 1.68 acres of land located at the southeast corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue from multifamily residential to general commercial and amending the official zoning district map, establishing severability of components of ordinance and establishing an effective date thereof.

Thank you. Next item, first reading of ordinance number 26-1238, an ordinance of the mayor and council of the city of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, authorizing the purchase of real property with assessor parcel 409-27-00207, approving the purchase from Cochise County and authorizing the mayor and the city manager to execute all necessary documents, establishing severability of components of ordinance and establishing an effective date throughout. Mr. Pedro Sanz.

Yes, good evening, members of council. The city was notified by Cochise County that parcel 4092700207 is under tax lien with the state of Arizona and may be acquired by the city for a nominal fee if it's to be utilized for flooding control purposes. This small parcel is comprised of 0.01 acres over the concrete culprits. on Washington Avenue between 4th and 5th Street, which is the wash there. The city is in the process of acquiring surrounding parcels from DUSD with the ball field land swap that provides the ability to perform more flood control maintenance and possible construction within these future city-owned parcel. So under ARS 42-18303, you may receive an offer from a city for property held by Arizona State as tax deed if the property will be used for transportation or flood control. The city will offer $10 for the purchase of this parcel to the county so that the property may be conveyed to the city and retain it for flood control purposes. I have to answer any questions, Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. President. I have a motion to approve the placement of ordinance number 26-1238.

I move that the Mayor and Council approve the first reading of ordinance number 20... Number 26.

1238.

1238 and place it on the second reading by number and title only.

Second. Second. Motion by Mrs. Pedrico, second by Mr. Shelton. Any discussion? Place it in the first, sorry. It's a first reading.

She said second.

Yes.

We'll have her do it again. We'll have her do it again. Just on the record.

I move that the Mayor and Council approve the placement of ordinance number 26-1238 on its first reading by number and title only.

Do I have a second? Second. Motion by Mr. Pedrego, second by Mr. Shelton. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedrego? Yes. Council Member Montaño? Yes. Council Member Durazo? Yes. Council Member Shelton? Yes. Council Member Dillman? Yes. Council Member Acosta? Yes. Mr. Mayor?

Yes. Motion passes.

An ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, authorizing the purchase of real property with assessor's parcel number 409-27-00207, approving the purchase from Cochise County and authorizing the Mayor and the City Manager to execute all necessary documents establishing several ability of components of ordinance and establishing an effective date thereof.

I have a motion to approve the first reading of ordinance number 26-1238. Mayor, Mr. Montaigne.

Move that the Mayor and Council approve the first reading of ordinance number 26-1238 and place it on its second reading by number and title.

Do we have a second? Second. Motion by Mr. Montaigne, second by Mr. Acosta. Any discussion?

Yes.

Mrs. Pedrigal.

This area has affected many families due to the flooding and hopefully this can be addressed with the proper use of engineers and with city employees. because I really believe that we need to get a good study on this so that the flow of the water that's coming down does not continue to knock down walls and flood the homes.

Thank you. Mr. Redros, did you mention how much it's going to cost just to be on the record?

$10.

Any other discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedregal? Yes. Council Member Montaño?

Yes.

Council Member Durazo? Yes. Council Member Shelton?

Yes.

Council Member Dillman? Yes. Council Member Acosta? Yes. Mr. Mayor?

Yes, motion passes.

In honor of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, authorizing the purchase of real property with assessor's parcel number 409-27-00207, approving the purchase from Cochise County and authorizing the Mayor and the City Manager to execute all necessary documents, establishing separate ability of components of ordinance and establishing an effective date thereof.

Thank you. Item C, first reading of ordinance number 26-1239, an ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, adopting the document filed with the city clerk entitled 2026 Amendments to Title IX by reference to amend Title IX of the Douglas Municipal Code relating to urban camping, establishing servicability of components of ordinance, and declaring an emergency. Mr. Fitzgibbons, and he will also talk about the update that we have on the emergency. Okay.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is a urban camping ordinance. This is something that several cities have approved probably in the last three or four years after the Supreme Court case that allowed cities to regulate public space. It deals with people obstructing public space or obstructing sidewalks. It also deals with alcohol use and things like that, aggressive solicitation. And it also deals with people trying to set up camps in public spaces that might block people's ability to walk and things like that. I know that acting police chief Loma Lee sent an amendment to this ordinance. And so I think his amendment I really like and I think helps tremendously because there are people that sometimes find it necessary to sleep in their car. There are people that are traveling sometimes that find it necessary to sleep in their car or their vehicle. And we're not trying to make that illegal if there's a reason for them to be there and they're not obstructing the peace and quiet of the neighborhood and things like that, and they're lawfully parked. That's not what we're trying to regulate. So I would ask if council was going to approve this, one, that we not approve it with an emergency because I need to incorporate his changes into the ordinance. And so if someone was going to approve it, just approve it on first reading without an emergency and direct staff to include Chief Lomali's changes in the ordinance. And we can get that to you by the second reading.

Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the placement of ordinance number 26-1239? Mr. Mayor. Mr. Montano.

I move that the mayor and council approve the placement and the ordinance number 26-1239 by number and title.

Do I have a second? Second. Motion by Mr. Montano, second by Mr. Shelton. Any discussion?

Mayor?

Mr. Montaño?

Yeah, I think the suggestion by Mr. Lomeli is a good one. I don't think that we need to rush into this. I think it's a very sensitive subject, not just for the people on the streets, but for the police department themselves. So I think if we get this right, I think it'll be good if we take our time.

Thank you. And so this came up, as Pedro Gomez-Sedomican affirmed, during our town hall, where there's someone living outside in a car. trying to be as generic as general as possible. And they just don't feel safe. There's mental issues there, but there's also drug issues. And apparently this person has walked along. I passed by this person and I can see why. So the emergency was just that, you know, just it was me because I didn't want to have it on my conscience. But at the same time, I didn't think about enforcing it. So I did. Mrs. Urquijo did say like a two week time frame. Yes. And then that gives the PD time. Um, we'll see if it gives them enough time and then we'll, uh, the, the discussion with staff was to then declare it as an emergency to negate the 30 days after it's implemented.

Were you going to say something, Ms. Pedro?

No mayor. I agree that if we could give a chief nominee and Mr. Fitzgibbons like two weeks before we approve something like this, because it is such a sensitive item.

Thank you. Any other discussion? Mr. Mayor, I mean, I think we, you know, we want to thank Chief Loma Lee for his input, but you also got to realize if anybody is out there, they're homeless, let's try to find the correct resources for them. Not right away, you know, make it a stigma in our community because mental issues are there. So I think we should also concentrate on getting them some kind of help, getting the proper resources to those individuals that are homeless and living in the car or just vacant properties or anything. But I think we really need to take a time with this. So not declaring an emergency was a wise thing. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other discussion before we our speaker? Ms. Diana Lamar. We answered your question. Let's do that often. She's gonna say, that's what happens when you have discussion, right? There you go. Any other discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Dennis?

I just, I wanna make sure the motion's clear.

The motion- Yeah, there was no emergency in the motion.

No emergency, okay, thanks, Mr. Mayor. And direct staff to incorporate the chief's comments.

Yeah, okay, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedregal.

I want to, before I vote, clarification, what are we voting on? Because I thought we were postponing it for two weeks with the- No, we are voting on the first reading without emergency. Okay, without the emergency. Okay, yes. I want to be clear.

Council Member Montaño.

Yes.

Council Member Durazo. Yes. Council Member Shelton. Yes. Council Member Dillman. Yes. Council Member Acosta. Yes. Mr. Mayor.

Yes, motion passes.

And on this of the Marion Council of the city of Douglas coaches County, Arizona, adapting the document file with the city clerk entitled 2026 amendments to title 9 by reference to amend title 9 of Douglas municipal code relating to urban camping establishing several of the components of ordinance and establishing an effective they there are.

You may have a motion to approve the first reading of reading of ordinance number 26 dash top 39. There is one time.

I mean, we've got the mayor and council approved the first reading of board and it's number two, six dash one, two, three, nine. Place it on second reading by nothing. I don't know.

Do you have a second? Second. Second by Mr. Montana, second by Mr. Shelton. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedreiro. Yes. Council Member Montaño. Yes. Council Member Durazo. Yes. Council Member Shelton. Yes. Council Member Dillman. Yes. Council Member Acosta. Yes. Mr. Mayor.

Yes. Motion passes.

In honors of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, adapting the document filed with the City Clerk in Title 2026, Amendment to Title IX, by reference to amend Title IX of the Douglas Municipal Code relating to urban camping, establishing several ability components of ordinance and establishing an effective date thereof.

Thank you. Item D. First reading of ordinance number 26-1240, an ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, amending Title 12 of the Douglas Municipal Code by deleting section 12.40.0505, relating to the fee charge for vendor boots at city-sponsored events, establishing severability of components of ordinance, and declaring an emergency. Ms. Smith.

CoB, Cindy Spence, Good evening, Mayor Council members of the public and staff, I think we need a seventh inning stretch. CoB, Cindy Spence, We're almost done. So I'll try to be brief. So the item before your response to America to have us request to review our current special event vendor fees. So for background, there are two separate sections of our Douglas Municipal Code that apply to special event vendor fees. One of them is Title V under business and license regulations, which governs vendor licensing and fees addressed in this memo. Specifically, 5.02.04085 as it regards to fair, festival, or swap meet. Essentially what that is, it's basically a $5 per day for a business or vendor fee to participate in our events. The other item in our code is Title 12, the one I'm most familiar with. It's our fees for our park and recreation center facilities and programs. And this one basically governs the vendor fees that we charge out our city sponsors special events on city property. Specifically, the area that talks about the vendor booth space, that city sponsored events shall be $50 for food and craft vendors per day or $10 for informational booths. In practice, these are collected through our civic rec system. So that's basically our platform that anybody wants to participate. As an offender, they come and sign up with the business license portion of each transaction coded to the GL code. Basically what I'm trying to explain is a vendor comes and they, they sign up with us through our civic rec code. We charge them, as practice right now, we charge them $50 per day, as it says in Title 12, but $5 of those $50 goes to the GL account under business licensing. And so for our major events like Douglas Days, 4th of July, Mexican Baseball Fiesta, right now it's $50 per day and $5 for the license vendor fee under Title 12 and Title 5. Information boosts are $10 a day. For some of our smaller events, and I think that's kind of why we're talking about these fees today, Energize Douglas, our block parties, PB, Lupita D Montoya, Art in the park and will be events. These are one time one day events are very, very few hours we charge those right now using title five as $5 for the vendor licensing fee fee to increase participation. For context, staff gathered special event vendor fees charged by nearby municipalities. They're provided in your agenda memo, which basically shows like city what we charge right now, as I just explained. Sierra Vista varies. They had a large variance from $50 to $300. And it was explained to staff that because they provide larger events and sometimes entertainments up to $5,000 or more. They charge up to $300 for vendor fees. Bisbee was interesting. They charge $6.24. Don't really know the rationale around the amount, but the organizer sets the booth price. So if you're familiar with Bisbee, it's going to be a lot of your non-government organizers that do this. So then they pay out of that special event, they give the city $6.25. 24 cents for each vendor. And Wilcox, more specifically, they reference like a Christmas event that's like about $75 per space rate. And then Nogales was $30 and then $0 for nonprofits. So in summary, those were, Douglas right now falls like in the middle of the group. Douglas is below Wilcox and services top tier rates when they charge. and above Bisbee and Nogales' base rates. A few cities offered also different approach, not just practice service to scales its fees based on expected attendance revenue. So in the course of review, we also found that in Title five fee language, we need to to clarify that. So staff is proposing resolving these questions through a separate Title five amendment at a later date. And so for tonight, staff is proposing to eliminate the special event vendor fee under Title 12 that says $5 per day per vendor booth and $10 for informational booth from Title 12.4.050 entirely and revert to charging the existing Title 5 fair festival swap meet fee for $5 per vendor per day for an event. PB, Lupita D Montoya, This will resolve the current inconsistency between the two titles and the license be inclusion question in a single step and requires requires no new ordinance language beyond removing title 12 vendor the vendor booth line as I explained We can return at a subsequent meeting to propose the Title V amendments, resolving some of the items that I discussed earlier. And right now, the vendor fee would be the $5. The fiscal impact, which you can expect, would be more of your major events I explained. Douglas Days would be about an impact of $3,480. Fourth of July celebration is going to be about $1,500. And then Mexican baseball, we bring about $400 in revenue from vendor fees. And with that, I'll entertain any questions you have.

Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the placement of ordinance number 26-1240? Mayor? Mrs. Pedrigal?

I move that the Mayor and Council approve the first reading of ordinance number 26-1240.

If I may, is the placement of?

I don't know what I did wrong. I move that the mayor and council approve the placement of ordinance number 26-1240 on its first reading by number and title only and declaring an emergency.

Do I have a second? Second. Motion by Mr. Pedrigal, second by Mr. Shelton. Before I bring up discussion, I want to thank Jennifer because this came... very soon that she did this research uh last week we were planning the mexican fiestas and when we found out when i was planning with the clerk that it was a fifty dollar uh basically to set up a table there we were there's not a lot of tables that are gonna set up uh for a smaller event like that um how many items do they have to sell to then Pay back the $50 to get back to $50 and make a profit. So the reason I'm thanking her is because she's on the agenda for the next item. And this took up all her time. So I want to thank you on that. Just in case anybody asks why we're going to do what we're going to do with the next item. But that's also the reason for the emergency is because the fiestas are in a few weeks. We don't have another meeting. And then because it's an ordinance, we need 30 days to basically enforce it. So this would take out the 30 days enough time for the fiesta. Any discussion?

No, I just think it's really great because having done Energize Douglas and different other activities, this will help to get more people involved because sometimes they don't recoup what they had to pay. So thank you very much.

Any other discussion?

And she knows all the vendors. She has the list of all the vendors. Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedro. Yes. Council Member Montaño. Yes. Council Member Durazo. Yes. Council Member Shelton. Yes. Council Member Dillman. Yes. Council Member Acosta. Yes. Mr. Mayor.

Yes. Motion passes.

In honor of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, amending Title 12 of the Douglas Municipal Code by deleting Section 12.40.0505 relating to the fee charged for vendor booth at city sponsor events, establishing several components of ordinance and declaring an emergency.

May I have a motion to approve the first reading of ordinance number 26-1240.

Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Shelton.

I move the mayor and council approve the first reading of ordinance number 26-1240 and place it on its second reading by number and title only and declaring it an emergency.

Do I have a second?

Second. Second.

Motion by Mr. Salton, second by Mrs. Dillman. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedrego? Yes. Council Member Montaño? Yes. Council Member Durazo? Yes. Council Member Shelton? Yes. Council Member Dillman? Yes. Council Member Acosta?

Yes.

Mr. Mayor?

Yes. Motion passes.

And also the Marion Council of the city of Douglas, which is county Arizona amending title 12 of the Douglas municipal code by deleting section 12.4 0.0 5 0 5 relating to the fee charge for vendor booth at city sponsor events establishing several of the components of ordinance and decline and emerge.

I have a motion to approve the second reading of ordinance number 26 that's full 40.

Mayor, I move that the Mayor and Council approve the second reading of the ordinance number 26-1240 by number and title only and declaring it an emergency.

Do I have a second?

Second.

Motion by Mr. Pedrego, second by Mr. Dillman. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Council Member Pedrego? Yes. Council Member Montaño? Yes. Council Member Durazo? Yes. Council Member Shelton? Yes. Council Member Dillman? Yes. Council Member Acosta? Yes. Mayor?

Yes, motion passes.

In honor of the Mayor and Council of the City of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona, amending Title 12 of the Douglas Municipal Code by deleting Section 12.40.0505, relating to the fee charged for vendor booth at city-sponsored events, establishing several greater components of ordinance.

Thank you next item item me presentation discussion direction or direction and marketing, we will be postponing this because miss Smith took all her time with this with the prior items so. Thank you again for that, but we'll have this at the next month's meeting if it's ready, but the direction is to postpone this until next month is everybody okay with that, yes, yes, I next item city manager reports misery people.

Thank you, members of the council and community members. With policy priority updates, a lot happening in our infrastructure. Our west utility corridor has now 6,300 linear feet of sewer pipe installed and nine manholes, 9,200 linear feet of water pipe. Remember, our total project has about 47,000 linear feet on each, give and take a couple thousand. It's different for sewer over water. So it's moving along. Our contractor is working on a modification for future customer stub outs. We still continue to be challenged by the need to close that funding gap on the major project and the timeline of gathering funding quickly remains key. So we are continuing to reach out to all of our partners and we have a few things pending review. Our SCADA and our telecommunication project, after some delays with programming, the commissioning of the new system is now expected in September and then training for our staff in October. But a very, very big part for our water well monitoring and using technology for them. Also our IT team recently met with Cochise County Fair Association to align and discuss their needs on technological enhancements for the, especially for the upcoming Cochise County Fair. And as part of the initiative, we are working to be able to deploy a dedicated high-speed internet infrastructure to the ticket booth areas external to the grounds, which is their priority and the area that they're requesting. This upgrade is designed to streamline the admissions, reduce processing delays, and significantly improve the overall guest experience through more efficient point-of-sale operations at the gates. And there'll be three different locations. Well 18, which is Kazi Park or 15th Street Park, all the work that's been happening in that well for several months. During the week of August 17, the well will need to be run for three hours for testing purposes, getting the motor going and the valve set correctly and do all of the testing. It will need to be flushed again the following week for five hours for similar testing. The contractor will work with staff to assess whether to run into the park wherever possible and then some of it into the street. We can try and keep it contained around the tree areas with a berm, and that's what we're evaluating with staff and the contractors, but some of it may need to run into a street because it is a lot of water. That is about 800 gallons per minute, but the time frame seems short, but when you have that much volume, we will do everything we can. But the testing has to take place. Also, well 20, which is our new well at Cochise College, the initial construction is at about 70% complete with airlifting, cleaning of the shaft, and running the pump test currently underway. For downtown revitalization, we've had lots of information sessions with council and one of our members of downtown who asked for specific questions regarding her specific art gallery, and she was able to also meet with our architect. So we are working on some public information sessions that will be held during the month of September. We will do a combination of Zoom and in-person. We want to ensure that we relay the technical clarifications that have been shared with Mayor and Council and with the community member shared with the community as well. Council has met with J2 for thorough question and answer sessions to understand the need for some of the width changes, some of the storm drainage requirements and the ADA and compliance expansions. as necessary to be able to space and back out safely from angled parking is another area for the expansion. And then also the, we are looking at giving back a two foot expansion on that sidewalk as a result of some of our meetings. So we're reassessing some of that as well in terms of re-engineering and cost for that. J2 will also be available at the Downtown Expo on October 1 to continue sharing this thorough information. On our growth and annexation policy priority, internal work continues to move west and move that annexation forward. We are working with a surveyor on legal descriptions and that will also require a general plan amendment and that process will begin soon in hopefully the next month following the process we need to follow there. Our streets and roads policy priority, our asphalt plant project continues to move along well. We are in the final steps to begin our commissioning of the plant. They are being finalized. What has to happen before commissioning begins is APS needs to be completed and actually their part for having power at the site is complete. but the wiring now is being finished by Douglas Electric and should be completed next week. Also a temporary tie-in for gas will be done by Southwest Gas. It's actually already underway and should be just days from being completed. And that's actually getting gas from the existing gas line to the meter. And then a contractor that we're ready to roll with will then run the line from the gas meter to the plant. As soon as that's done, commissioning begins, and that takes, under the contractor and scope of work, anywhere from two to three weeks. But in the meantime, oil is being ordered for the operation, the scale is being calibrated, gates are being quoted for installation, and the aggregate bins are being planned out for purchase, and also our ADEQ permit is being worked on to be filed. On Chino Road, the realignment project that is also moving along while they are getting to Chino will need to be closed during a portion of September from Highway 8 to 9th Street for construction and will be Thanksgiving. Signage and public service announcements will be issued by the contractor for businesses in the community. And also tracks that are hauling to this project have been moved from 10th Street to 15th Street. We also began curbing gutter and sidewalk work on the 9th Street and Cochise Avenue area near Ballard. In other areas outside of policy priorities, the assessment phase for the council chamber audio upgrade has been completed, and we are working on getting all of the components ordered and preparing to execute the final installation, which is scheduled to take place over the next few months. Our target is to have the new system fully operational and tested in time for the October meeting. We are working with the University of Arizona for that project oversight. Staff have, as we heard from many of our community members, we have initiated the public nuisance and emergency abatement process at Sunspot swimming pool. And as you heard, many residents have submitted questions. We have prepared a question and answer document and it's being distributed soon to them in both English and Spanish for their understanding of why we have to go through this process. It is a process that's defined by the Douglas Municipal Code, which is really a mayor and council approved process. and we are working with legal on every step. It is a very complex issue because many of those parcels, when we pull up the land documentation, we have many absentee owners and they all are, many of those parcel owners or tenants, well, the parcel owners do portions and slivers of the pool. They don't all see that in the documents that we're pulling. We see that. So we're getting clarification also from Cochise County to be able to move forward in that way. But we have to provide the notice under policies under Douglas Municipal Code. We have to provide the 30 days. We are doing an additional 30 days for the proper review and understanding of what we have to go through. we have to take those steps before actually going in and abating the property the pretty was going to be abated by the city but they have options if they don't want to have the city lean that later and donation is one of those options and many of you are familiar with how we've taken properties before the most recent one was on washington North Washington and Gulf Course Road. And we go through a process that we have to follow. And then eventually that was also a donation at the end. So we are following all of that, but I understand the confusion. We're going to be working with them on that Q&A and just have the opportunity to answer all of their questions and move along. I'd also like to extend a special thank you to one of our team members, Marilyn de la Torre, a.k.a. Nikki, for all of her hard work and dedication in bringing America to 50 moments that made us displays that are seen here in the council chamber. outside, bringing them to life. These displays, which you can now see, highlight the important moments in our nation's history and include a special recognition also of Douglas's 125th anniversary. Our public works also helped in getting all of these set up, so thank you to them. and then a border art corridor, shout out for allowing us to, actually they helped us really design. We took this from one of the 250 displays that were touring all of Arizona and we weren't able to get in there. So they were able to send us the entire collection and we printed the collection. Border Art Corridor assisted us in getting them framed and getting them presentable. And we hosted that several months ago by opening the exhibition at the Grand Theater. So these are ours to keep. They're not borrowed. And the only thing that's different from the tour that went through all of the state was the lack of the actual Liberty Bell that toured with it. So everything else we are now owners of and we'll have a permanent display to rotate around different areas of our community. That's it for my report, thank you.

Thank you. Item 13, future agenda item request from Mayor and Council. Do we have any?

Mayor, I don't have necessarily a future agenda item. This is only for agenda, though, only for agenda items.

Was this going to be a request?

Well, I don't know if we can put it on the agenda that, you know, the community members that come up and ask questions that they can receive some type of response or acknowledgment for the concerns that they express when they come to and speak at the podium.

You can always direct staff when that happens, but. We can have that conversation. You can have that conversation with the city manager, then we could discuss it. Next meeting, that's all.

Anyone? Mayor?

Mr. Montano.

Yeah, I'd like to maybe put on next meeting's agenda the downtown streetscape. It's kind of been kind of fallen by the wayside. The last guidance that we gave the city manager was like two and a half years ago. to proceed with it. But since there's been so many things going on since then, I think we need to decide of what we're gonna do. Something either proceed, proceed with changes or discard it, whatever. But I think it's been kind of just there with no discussion of any sort. So I'd like to have something.

So question on that. Do you want it in the September meeting? because the city manager said you're having the expo on October. Would you want it in the October meeting?

October's fine, but I think what she's going to present in that meeting, we've already seen. So it would be, either one.

We'll leave that at the staff's discretion. Is that okay? But at least in the next two months.

Stick at us moving on bidding, yes.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Yes.

Mr. Cha?

Like... Circle K for coming and presenting. And, you know, thank you for considering Douglas and you're welcome. Okay. Next thing we have Mr. Fernandez here. I think we.

This is just for asking for something.

Well, yeah, I am. I think we need to. process and do what we need to do to maybe possibly put it on the agenda for next time.

We already gave directions at the special meeting.

I know that.

I do have one a few months ago. I don't know how to explain this. We had a call to the public and former mayor put in a lot of uh put ordinances in to basically um shut down free speech that we can't do. I mean, I know it's an ordinance and staff says, hey, if it's an ordinance, we can uphold it, but I don't want the city to get sued because we're stifling free speech. So I'd like anything that goes against state law that pertains to call to the public, that we repeal it at the next council meeting as quick as we can, just so we don't have those contradicting laws when it comes to our ordinances and state law. No one else. Item 14, adjournment. Do I have a motion to adjourn?

I so move.

Do I have a second?

Second.

Motion by Mr. Pedro. Second by Mr. Montano. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. And Inez, I just have it. We adjourn at 8.08 p.m. Have a good evening, Dennis.

Thank you.

Thanks a lot, everybody. Have a nice evening.