City Council - Regular Meeting

Christmas. How are you? Sex. everybody.

Welcome to the city of Maricopa's city council meeting. We're glad you're here because your voice matters. If you'd like to speak tonight, please start by filling out a speaker card at the council chambers entrance and turning it in to the city clerk before the meeting begins. On that card, you can let us know if you want to speak on a planned agenda item or during the general call to the public. Please keep in mind that all comments are limited to 3 minutes or less depending on the number of people requesting to speak. Personal attacks and political speeches or threats are inappropriate in this forum and will be grounds for ending a speaker's time at the podium at the discretion of the mayor. We also ask that audience members refrain from applauding or showing disapproval of comments shared by fellow community members as every person who addresses council has the right to speak and not be intimidated. It's important to note that due to Arizona's open meeting law, council members cannot respond or take action on topics not listed on the agenda, but your comments will be heard and entered into the public record. Can't stick around for the full meeting? You can always catch the replay on Facebook or YouTube where this meeting is currently being live streamed. Want more details about tonight's agenda items? Scan the QR code on your screen or visit www.mmaricopa-az.gov/aggenda. Thank you for joining us and getting involved. As a final reminder, please silence your cell phones and electronic devices. The city council meeting will begin shortly.

Thank you. Thank you all for being here today. I am calling the regular city council meeting January 20th, 2026 to order. And I'd like to first invite up Pastor Luke Panter from Grace Fellowship Church to say our invocation and then followed by pledge of allegiance from Council Member Marsh. Please rise if you're able.

Thank you, Madame Mayor and City Council for inviting me to come and lead us in prayer. So, if if you would if you would like to go ahead and bow with me. Father in heaven, we thank you, God, for your grace over us today, over this chamber, over our city council. Father, we pray that the proceedings today, Father, would be um uplifting, Lord, to one another and to you. God, we thank you for the impact and the legacy uh that we celebrate this week of Dr. Martin Luther King. Father, for the unity and peace that he struggled for and many continue to struggle for. Father, we pray that you would continue to unite us as a community and as a nation. Father, I pray that uh, Father, that knowing your omnipotence, your omniscience, Father, and your love for us, God, that every part of business that's conducted here today, Father, would be honoring to you, Father, would be in efforts to uh maintain and continue to build up our community in a way that would be honoring to you. Father, we pray that uh our community would continue to be a place where Father that the marginalized and the weak and the poor and the suffering would be lifted up, supported by their neighbors, Father. So give us the tools, give us the strength, God, to be the people that you've designed, that you've created us to be. Father, be with our law enforcement, first responders, those who serve as our guardians. Father, who uphold the laws that we elect people to create, Father, help us as we support them, Father. Continue to lead people with vision, Father, into those places of service and into our government. We give you thanks and we ask that you superintend this meeting in Christ's name. Amen.

Amen. To the flag of the United States of America and to the stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Council member ghetto present. Council member no present. Council member Leman here. Council member Marsh here. Council member Wade here. Vice Mayor Man Freddy here. Mayor Smith here. Madame Mayor, we have a qu.

Thank you very much. That takes us to the next section which is section three and we have two items tonight. The first is the Black History Month proclamation and then the second is an acknowledgement of a wonderful young lady that we have in our community and I'm excited to share with you more information about that. So, I will meet Council Member Wade down in front of the audience. So, uh, many of you here were aware that we had a wonderful, wonderful hour of opportunity to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King and so many good elements of that. But I gotta tell you, the men's choir, men's vocal group. [applause] Yeah, everybody was outstanding. The band was outstanding. Uh, thank you very much, Council Member Wade, for doing that. It was just delightful. And as I think about Martin Luther King, I think about the fact that if we all would all follow his model, what a much more peaceful world this would be, wouldn't it? Yeah. Amen to that. Um I was invited to Mount Mariah Church to come listen to those gentlemen and to the reverend there and so I think I'm gonna have to take him up on that. It was very delightful. Yeah. All right. So we have a proclamation tonight celebrating Martin Luther King. Whereas Dr. Martin Luther King devoted his life to the pursuit of equality,

justice, and opportunity for all. And his message of service, nonviolence, and hope continues to inspire people across generations. And whereas Dr. King reminded us that real change begins in our communities when we listen to one another, respect our differences, and work together toward a shared future. Isn't that true? Whereas our Maricopa community is proud of its diverse and growing community and remains committed to fostering unity and respect for all who live and work and visit here. And whereas honoring Dr. King's legacy encourages meaningful conversations strengthens community connections and reminds us to share of our shared responsibility to care for one another and move forward together. So now therefore, I Nancy Smith, mayor of the city of Maricopa, do hereby proclaim January 20th as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the city of Maricopa and encourage all residents to honor Dr. King's leg legacy by serving others, reflecting on his teachings, and helping to build a stronger, more connected community. Yeah, [cheering] [applause]

I kind of said what I had to say out in the earlier section, but one thing I do want to make sure that we were very clear on when it came time to do this, when it came time to do the proclamation, there was no push back from the city of Maricopa. And I think that's important to know. We have our differences. We have our desire to do things different some way sometimes. But when it comes down to it, we get to businesses, taking care of the community. That's why we do what we do. Thank you. [applause] Yeah. Okay. This next one is very exciting for me as well. So, a local Maricopa youth is making a meaningful impact in our city. And I'm reading this because I don't want to miss a thing. I want you to all to understand this. At the county and state levels, she has served on the Governor's Youth Commission and the Arizona State Board of Education Student Advisory Panel, where she amplifies the voice of youth, ensuring they play a central role in shaping public policy. Analise Alexander, you know what? Why don't I invite her up so you can see her while I give her all this praise? Please welcome her up. [applause]

Analise Alexander was selected from countless nominations statewide to receive the inspired youth leadership award at the 22nd annual governor's volunteer service recognition ceremony. And she's ours Maricopa. She's a Maricopa resident. We're so proud of her. Analise was recognized for her unwaving wavering commitment to service and dedication to amplifying youth voices. As the first youth volunteer for the Telivarity Foundation, she co-chared, listen to this, their backpack program and supported traditional housing. This is a young person like traditional housing initiatives that help families break the cycles of poverty and incarceration. Amazing stuff. Locally, Anelise has dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to the Maricopa Little League and the Cares for Horses Foundation. She is also familiar and reliable presence at our community events, including the state of the city addresses, senior expo, stage coach days, where she continues to give back to the community she proudly calls home. She has an award with her tonight, so let's give her a huge round of applause. Here, [applause] I'll show off your I'll show off your

It's very pretty. Very pretty. Yeah. I mean, since we moved to Maricopa in 2022, I have felt nothing but welcome by the community. And I think this award is really just a testament to that. Um, a testament to all the volunteers and organizations that have supported me along the way. Um, but yeah, most of all, community and all of you for making me feel welcome and encouraging me to volunteer and just get involved and make the community a better place. So, thank you. [applause] [applause] And we have this for you. Oh, beautiful.

A beautiful certificate for [applause] Thank you. Thank you all so much. All right, that takes us to the report from the mayor and council. Council, who would like to start tonight? Council member Marsh. So, our our last city council meeting was December 2nd last year, seven weeks ago. Did you miss us? On uh December 8th, um I participated in in a founders memorial task force meeting with the mayor and others like the guy on my left. Um and we met with our federal lobbyists from from Nexus Consulting and we had a lot to talk about. On the 9th, um, I participated in the Panel County Water Augmentation Authority board of directors and a city manager monthly update in the afternoon and he had a lot to update to. On December 18th, um, I called a drainage meeting with staff and mayor to explore the watershed of the Santa Cruz River and how it how it could impact us in the future. On the 12th of uh January, I was I participated in the panel partnership water resources committee and that was

much of the same people as on the uh panel county water augmentation authority board. Uh on the 14th we had another founders memorial task force meeting where we finalized most of the designs and so forth. Uh you'll hear more about this in in the future. on the 17th last Saturday, um we hosted with the senior advisory committee the senior info expo and much appreciation goes to Travis, Brenda, Chance, Kelly, the Jun Junior Air Force ROC and the senior advisory committee, all the other volunteers who made this annual success annual event a rocking success. and it was exciting. For those of you who didn't make it, come next year, you're getting older. And that's about it. Thanks.

Thank you very much, Council Member Marsh. Council Member Ghetto. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I appreciate the time. Um, yeah, this month, I'll echo Council Member Marsh's sentiments. Has been a very busy month. It's almost uh we can count ourselves lucky we didn't have council meetings to be able to fit everything else in. But

um two or three of the events I'd like to call to your attention to on December 4th uh in attendance also with uh madame mayor and the the first gentleman was attending as well as along with my wife. We had the opportunity to witness the fire recruit academy graduation where several of our new recruits for our fire department graduated and were welcomed into the family here of the Maricopa Fire and Medical. And uh I just wanted to express um just our gratitude for them to be willing to sign up for such a difficult job uh to be able to come and to protect our community. Uh they were full of promise and and hope and was excited to to be able to meet a number of them and welcome them onto our team. We've got a great uh a great department and I appreciate Chief Patassy's leadership there. Another event that I wanted to let you know about was on December 15th, I was invited and participated in the groundbreaking of the new auction medical center. Um this is a dialysis unit. Um in addition to several other medical offices that are being built concurrently that will help service not only the the nation but also our own local community. Um those of uh you and and families and friends who who have to go undergo dialysis know that that's not a pleasant experience. And then you add the commute up the 347 there and back again when you're feeling not your best. Um it makes it kind of a dice roll whether or not that's going to be a fun trip. So having something local and available uh will be a great blessing to our community. And so I wanted to let you know that that's on its way and they're working as I mentioned we ground broke ground for it on the December 15th. Lastly, [clears throat] I have an upcoming event that I'd like to invite everybody to. We live in kind of crazy times and crazy worlds. And on January 31st, so a week from Saturday, uh the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in partnership with the Maropa

PD, we're hosting a Saturday uh house of worship security training. And this will be available to all community members, faith leaders, volunteers, congregants. It's a free event. It'll be about an hour long starting at 10 o'clock in the morning. It'll be hosted at the LDS Chapel on Bowlolan Drive. And that address is 37280 West Bolan. That's just just west of the fire station that's out there by Tortosa, if you know where that's at. So, please, if you'd like to come and attend, um, be great training and everybody is welcome. Madame Mayor, that's all I have for today. Thank you very much. Council member Regettle, Council Member Wade.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Yes, it has been a very big couple of weeks, month. Yeah.

Month and um there's a lot going on, a lot to do. And as I share with you all what's going on in my my personal life, um I want to thank the fire department for being who they are. Um you know, sometimes when you're in a a position of of respect, I guess, if is the word. I come up with a better word for it. People tend to shy away from taking care of you because they don't want to be impacted by a mistake. That's not our fire department. Our fire department came in, took care of business. The doctor indicated that had we been 30 minutes later that she would not have made it through the night. And so I just want to thank the Chief Patassie and his his group of merry folks, merry men and Mary women for all that they do. And I hope that if any of you have to be subjected to having someone come and extract you from your home, that'll be these guys. That's the guys you want to have because they do their job. And I want to also acknowledge Alicia uh for her efforts. It was really nice to attend the ceremony with the governor as the noticed how much respect it gave to that award and to the young lady who had received it. Her mom and dad are certainly are proud and I was proud to be able to be a part of that that ceremony that was conducted. It showed someone me mentioned that Maricopa is strong. Maricopa is strong and Maricopa has things to do to be even stronger, but it is strong. So, thank you, Madame Mayor, for being kind of ramble.

Absolutely, Council Member Wade. And prayers will be continuous for Gail. Yeah. Throughout Council Member No.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, Council Member Marsh noted that it has been quite a long time since we've been together in this chamber, but I'm going to keep it short and just hit the high points over the last eight weeks. Today, I was able to attend the Central Arizona Government Day at the Capitol. And so, we were able to hear from some of our organizations that represent us at the capital about some of the issues that will be pending in the legislature this session and how they are going to affect the cities and towns. So, it's a great opportunity to learn about the issues. There's a lot of opportunity and of course there's a lot of concern uh about funding and how that will pan out, but we've got great people representing us and we were able to talk to some of our legislators while we were there about the issues. So, it was really a great opportunity. And then I was also able to meet with uh members of Arizona Department of Transportation staff here at city hall with some of our amazing residents who advocate passionately for a better way for our commuters to get in and out of town. And they gave us an update on the construction and what it's going to look like for 347 when that project begins. and they explained to us why there's going to be an overpass at the cement plant road mammoth way uh versus the Casablanca intersection and why that came to be. Um however, we're just grateful that there will be an extra overpass um along with rigs. Um, but it was really great conversation and it really came out of our wonderful residents asking questions and asking for clarification and I think that's just great that they continue to press forward um so that we get the best result for the people of Maricopa. I was also able to attend a dinner with some of the board members from the Arizona Department of Transportation state board and we were able to thank them for what

they did um this past summer in putting the 347 project into the five-year plan. And so that was a great opportunity to just sit with them and thank them for all of their work and everything they did. And you know, they of course always complement the great effort that the city of Maricopa went to to get that included. And really that was again, I know we've said it a million times, but I'll say it two million times, a result of the work of the 347 committee. And um and the state transportation board members continue to talk about what great work they did and how that made this possible. So I think we always need to recognize that. And in fact, in the meeting today at Central Arizona Governments, Senator Rogers, so she represents LD7, was talking about Maricopa and how we got it done and telling her people that they need to basically do what Maricopa did. So, it was pretty interesting. I loved I loved hearing that. She called us the town of Maricopa. And I was like, we're the city of Maropa. [laughter] Um, I was also able to attend the police awards. Um, and that was incredible. It was incredible to hear the stories, the stories of our police officers and what they do for this community. And sometimes we see the headlines and we see some of the big things that take place, right? We'll read that in the paper or online and in Maricopa, but some of the big things that happen and the lives they save and the herois heroic efforts they go to um, no one hears about. And during this police awards, we got to hear about what these officers do day in and day out uh to protect the people of Maricopa. And it was really great to be able to be there and to honor them. And um so thank you, Chief, for allowing us to participate in that. And I'm looking forward to next month uh at the Maricopa Fire Department

dinner also uh awarding those uh firefighters and hearing those great stories because they are um great and we really appreciate everything they do for the city. And then finally uh last chance to register for the Maricopa Women in Government Day at the Capitol. It will be Friday, uh, January 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 1 pm. We've still got some spots left. It's a great opportunity to come down and learn how laws are made. Uh, Representative Martinez is hosting us and she's got a great morning planned. We will get a tour of the ca of the House of Representatives. Then we get to do mock debates on the floor. So they'll have fake bills and everyone who comes will get to sit at a legislator's desk and debate bills and vote. And so I think that will be really exciting and a great opportunity. And then that will be followed by lunch and a presentation on water and transportation issues. So if you would like to join in, we've still got some spots left. Um just email me at my city email which is available online or you can come talk to me after the meeting. And that's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Noah. Council member Lurman. Thank you, mayor. I just want to note that as I look out, the crowd is amazing tonight. It looks so full, but I think there's a special beauty because you were serenated over by the men's choir, and I can just see it on your face. You all just look so beautiful tonight. So, thank you so much for being here. Um, I want to thank you all for participating in the community food drive. We got over a ton of food, so thank you so much. It was really successful. it was for for Maricopa um and it was partly due to the government shutdown and we had a 30% increase in attendance at the food bank. So you really made a difference and thank you so much for that. And I want to thank Kevin Kion Okuma for his efforts with the farmers market. They've moved from Central Arizona College every other Sunday to Lowe's now every single Sunday. So every Sunday from 9 to 2 you can go to Lowe's and see the farmers market. It's a great event. So hopefully you guys will participate out there and I'm so appreciative for his passion and the way he's serving our community in that way. I also wanted to thank you for expressing your opinion so strongly about the water rate increase. I received 30 emails in about two days and I really appreciate that. I appreciate you. Whatever topic it is, it doesn't need to be that topic. It could be any topic, but anytime the community takes the time to email and call, it really helps us to obviously know what is important to you and for you to use your voice. So, I just want to thank you for that and I ask that you continue to do that. I read every single email and try and respond very quickly. So, thank you very much. I want to recognize that Maricopa has lost two amazing women leaders in our community just in the last couple weeks. um Joan Kosar and Elizabeth Howell. They were both leaders in our community and served our community with their whole heart. They

loved Maricopa and some of the things they did was serve our senior community um serve well um Joan even served on the Open Arms Vocational Living Center um helping us with that organization. Um Elizabeth did the shredding event and we could go on and on. Um, Joan also helped with a food pantry, making sure our seniors are fed in Maricopa. And the list goes on. I actually met Elizabeth as at the school district because she taught there for many years. And I remember her coming on our campus. And so these women have poured their hearts into our community and it was a huge loss um for Maricopa. I just want to honor them. Um, the police award ceremony was very emotional, very impressive. I had not dry eyes. It was um just so um I was there was so much pride. So much pride. I just want to thank our police officers and our chief for serving our community again in such heroic ways that we don't always hear about. Um and so I'm so um proud of of them. And then lastly, I just want to recognize our Maricopa Police Cadets, the Explorers Program. They just participated in a event, a competition in Chandler. I think they go every year with uh compete against 40 other teams from around the nation. And this year we took first place in the axe throw, second place in tactical team relay, and third place in P pistol shoot and decision shoot. So I'm really proud of our cadetses. [applause] And the chief let me know this last week. I was talking to him and I said, "Hey, chief, let me know when you hire your first cadet explorer because I really want to hear about that." And he goes, "I already have." What do you mean? And so I just want to can make sure I can you guys know that it is a pathway for recruitment that this program is really valuable. Um I believe we have a waiting list to get into this

program and this can be a recruitment tool for a recruitment program for our police department. So, I'm very very proud of that part department and thank you chief uh for supporting that that awesome program and thank you mayor very much. Yes, council member.

Thank you, mayor. Uh I also wanted to note that Friday, January 30th is a big day. So, you can go to Maropa Women Day at the Capitol during the day and then that night you can attend the uh police versus fire flag football game and that is at Leading Edge, correct? Yeah, at Leading Edge Academy. Uh, and that if you went to the basketball game, it was pretty exciting. But, um, you can attend the flag football game and it's a charity event to raise fund for funds for our police and fire departments here in Maricopa. So, I encourage everyone to come out and check that event out. Thank you very much. And thank you, Council Member Lman. Vice Mayor Manf Freddy.

Everybody was talking so much my phone turned off. Hold on. I had everything on here. my notes. Um, January 8th was a great day. Um, and it's a great day because it's a day where Maricopa Wells Middle School Future happened. I don't know if you guys have ever been to this, but please sign up, judge, and and help and volunteer. Go to the schools and help them build the cities. They need mentors. They need all that stuff. It's through the um the the school district. They have it. and Maricopa Wells Middle School um does very well on statewide competition as well as national competition, but they do it also at um um Desert Winds. So, every other year I go to one of them and judge. So, on January 8th, I was at Maroba Wells Middle School judging it. And you go from um I think it's fifth grade, I think it was fifth grade up until seventh grade or whatever it is, maybe sixth, seventh, I don't know. Um, and believe it, I heard it so many times that day, drove me crazy. Um, but anyway, what they do is they build a city a 100red years from now and they look at how they can um impact multiple things. This one is um this this year was food waste and how to bring um food from farm to table. And it was really cool. It was a great day uh a great evening and but you see these kids and they and from the first year they do it to the last year they do it, the the growth you see is so amazing. So I love that thing. So anyway, that was on January 8th. On January 12th, we had a meeting for AOT where um and just to give more background on it, the month prior we spoke at an AOT meeting and we talked a little bit and some of our residents brought up the overpass situation at rigs and cement plan. Not rigs, I'm sorry. Casablanc plant. So AOT made the

offer to come down to the city of Maricopa and they sent their project team, three people from this from AOT came down and had a full discussion with our members of our our community as well as a couple of us council members and the mayor was there and some staff and really went over a lot of stuff. and you came away, if you didn't come away from that meeting feeling really good about the situation that's going to be happening over the next three years or so on 347, I don't know. But, um, that was a pretty good meeting that we had. And then on January 15th, um, yeah, it was the 15th, we had a state transportation board meeting, um, sorry, a dinner with the state transportation board at Apex. I pulled up to Apex and there was this car going in circles, smoke going all over. They were doing I forgot what that's called. They burnouts. Burnouts. And then out of that car comes the mayor. [laughter] I'm just saying. And um and then the next day we got to come to the city council chambers and it was so great that AOT chose the city of Maricopa to have their state transportation board meeting as the first board meeting of 2026

because they were here and they wouldn't say it, but it was a victory lap. It was the it was the ability to come here and just bask in the happiness of the city in that the 347 is fully funded and the work that's going to get started and it's going to be a great couple years as I said. So that was um on Friday. This um past Saturday we had this really cool program that happens in the city of Maricopa and I want to thank staff for putting it together and and putting it putting everything together as well as um um the different committees. But it was a senior expo and it was an ability to just seniors get information that they needed. It was almost almost as good as when Peg used to do it for us and put it together. She did a great job when it was at Copper Sky. And it was just a full day and a great day, an event where seniors can get so much information. And I never seen seniors run as fast as when that door opened and there was free um tax prep from AARP. They wanted to know where that was and they were straight to it. It was hilarious. It was fun. So that was the senior expo. Today um as council member Noir mentioned we we um attended the KAG simp annual legislative day. This is a day where different organizations within the state of Arizona get together and talk about legislative issues. The cool part about it is every year that I've been there and I think it's been how long I've been here? 12 years I guess on council. 11 years on council. Every year that I've gone to it, TJ Schop is there and TJ is our state senator and TJ shows up and takes the questions and he he he eats the Mexican food that they serve us because he likes that, right? But they serve us lunch and he sits there and he takes the questions. And when I spoke to him today, uh, one of the things he said

today was his proudest achievement last year was the I10 expansion and how he had to get that taken care of. And then also the 347, but last year he had a fight for the funding for the I 10 expansion that was happening. And it was a fight because the federal government was shut down. Things were happening. They didn't know if they get the money in 2024, 2025. and he said this year his number one goal is to make sure that our funding for Rigs Road and other funding that they gave us for the 347 through the legislature does not get touched. And that is a good thing. Having people like TJ and uh Terresa Martinez and Chris Lopez fighting for us at the legislature is what helps us get past the finish line. So that was a great meeting. And then I just wanted to follow up and let everyone know on January 22nd, that is this Thursday, we have futures planning. It's happening over at the library. Feel free to stop by sometimes during the day.

Did you cut me off? No. Oh, I heard buzzes. I don't know. Um, so come on over and hear us talk about what we plan to do here in the future for the city of Maricopa. And then, um, there was something else I forgot. Huh? Your your at the end of the month with the attorney general. Oh, we do have a um a meeting coming up, but it's in February. Oh, it's in February. Sorry. Yeah, I won't talk about that. I'll talk about that in February. I'll talk about that later.

But Rich asked Rich sent me a text and he kept pointing at his phone like this from the back of the room and he said, "Can you mention this?" And um coming up on March 1st at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, there is a blood drive happening. You can sign up for it um at Vibrant, I think it's called. VI Vital. Vital. So, you can give blood and you can have a lucky chance to win 10 grand. Give blood. Maybe win some money. Um but that's it for me.

Very good. Thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor Man Freddy. All right. I have a long list, too, but I'm going to go through it really fast. [laughter] Um many things have been talked about. The fire recruiting graduation was superb. I love it. the fact that we're getting um young men and women from around the state, possibly even around the nation, I'm not sure. Um but definitely around the state to come and work at the city of Maricopa and go through this brutal program. It was very touching and very phenomenal. Um I also attended the veterans military Christmas brunch. I am so proud of the way our veterans take care of our veterans. This was a day for veteran families to come and eat and enjoy some gifts, meet Santa, and just have a great time. So, I enjoyed that. Mary Copa was a special opportunity as well. The way that our community gets together and celebrates and you can come out, meet some friends, meet some new people, look at some of the small businesses. Wonderful job by staff. It was a superb event. Then, Rock and Stocken event. You guys saw that presented here in city council. I needed to go check that out. And it was a long line of cars going through a process of different people, different nonprofits who showed up to giveaways to all the cars that came through and um people were delighted, they were tickled, they got some food and they had a great time. So the rock and stocking event was wonderful. This next one, I want to talk about it because tonight we celebrated Martin Luther King. Over the holidays, I went to the Manora lighting event. If you don't know, and I'm going to talk about one other event here just in a minute. If you don't know, MUSD is one of the most diversified school districts in the Metro Phoenix region. I'm really proud of that because it means our community is extremely diverse. And as demonstrated tonight with Martin Luther King, then I went to the Manura lighting that was packed. Um, it was a lovely event for our Jewish comm community. Um,

and then I'll talk about the third one here in a second. The police department service awards. So touching, so impressive. The way they sacrificed their lives in many cases um is just impressive. They even honored one resident who put his life in danger as well. Very impressive what our community is willing to do. The panel partnership breakfast was a mayor's breakfast and we had a mayor's panel and I shared the good information about 347 and then some challenges that we have around the city as well. So that was very informative uh opportunity. And then as was indicated we hosted the state transportation AOT meeting and I want to share with you that during the meeting we had a lovely gentleman from our city come up to the mic and ask the AOT state transportation board meeting if anyone had considered how are you going to handle the traffic and where are you going to shut off lanes during some of the busiest times. So the board just like us can't respond to public comment but the director director Toth was able to answer the question and said to the greatest extent possible we will always keep two lanes open. Now they can't promise it 100% something may happen where they need to shut a lane down but anytime they need to shut a lane down they will do it in the evening and to the greatest extent possible. So the entire crowd that day was very very happy to hear that. I'm delighted to hear that. Many people asked that question. It's important. Spread the knowledge. Spread the news. Um and then the senior info expo. I just want to share with you. So I walked around before it opened and many new vendors said, "Are you really going to pack this room with people?" And I'm like, "You just wait." Last year it was 600 plus squeezed into the lobby area of the library. And so then I cycled back

afterwards and I asked these same vendors. I'm like, "Did I lie?" And they're like, "No, I can't even talk anymore. I ran out of giveaways." And so they were they were very t tickled. It was really a lot of fun. Um the third event that I went to that was just so intriguing to me was the Senu log festival at Our Lady of Grace. We have a wonderful Filipino community in the city of Maricopa and so they had this special service and I went to enjoy it. I loved it. So again, I just love the diversity that we have in our community. I spent this morning with Senator Kelly speaking of some of our needs and guess what they were? Roads. Roads and the flood plane. the flood plane is something that we need to get resolved in order to bring those high-paying jobs out at our industrial park. And so those were two key topics that he and I discussed briefly. Um and then uh so I want to remind you so I've done this and I'm asking you to do this and I know some of our council members have done this as well. The general plan proposal is out for review. I want you to take the time to review that general plan. And if you're interested, there is a high hard copy of the current general plan and a hard copy of the proposed general plan at the library that you can go check out. You can sit there, flip through it. Um, but we want your input and so I'm highly encouraging you. I was I was delighted with the opportunity to review both and I haven't submitted my comments yet, but shortly this week I will be doing that. I encourage you to do the same and it's there available at the library or it's available online. So, um either way you can get to it. And then lastly, um I agree with Council Member

Lerman. We did lose two wonderful women um in the last month. Joan Kosar who had so many ways of serving our community and Elizabeth Howell who had who they both of these women were chairs of the age friendly committee and the senior advocacy committee and both are just wonderful uh ladies of wisdom. Um just to give you a fun little note about one of them uh someone asked me what I uh remember most about Elizabeth how. So, every time we say the pledge up here, most of us are trying to make sure we're the first ones. Did you know one nation under God is one complete phrase? There is no pause. And Elizabeth was the one who came to the podium and said, "Council members, I want to encourage you to say, one nation under God, not one nation under God. One nation under God." It's one phrase, and I love that. I'll never forget it. There's a competition up here for who's gonna

who can who can say it first and the loudest if you can't hear us. Um, so that's one of my greatest memories. If you don't mind, let me please indulge me and give me just 30 seconds of a moment of silence to remember these lovely women. Thank you so very much. That ends our mayor and council report and that takes us to the report from the city manager.

Thank you, Madame Mayor, members of the council. A quick little report today. We'll go ahead and start um reemphasizing something that uh council member Lerman already mentioned, but she did provide me a uh a certificate. And so this is a copy of the certificate for the for Maricopa food drive. So it just, you know, it's it's one of those things that uh means a lot when our community comes together. We can move mountains and move a ton of food or more than a ton of food. So literally a ton.

Literally a ton. Yeah. More than So uh just a great opportunity for us to celebrate our community coming together. Next slide, please. Um, want to hit a little bit on our permit growth and what that means for our community and how things have changed over the last few years. Most importantly, when we talk about growth and talk about our infrastructure, it's important to note that our growth or our our permits as as people come in and build new homes or build new businesses, they're required to pay development impact fees and they also pay construction sales tax. So, what does that look like in in terms of our our growth? So in 2025, the year that just completed, we had 600 single family homes permitted. We had 649 other types of units, whether that's apartments or um build to rent homes. Um so a total of about $1,250. When you look at the development impact fee component, that was we collected about $9 million in development impact fees. And when you look at the construction sales tax, we com we collected about $14 million. So between those two things alone, we collected about $23 million. So that's $23 million that we have to use towards new traffic signals, new street lights, um really a lot of those big major projects that we're we're striving to complete on a year-by-year basis. And as we go into our capital improvement plan, that's a huge funding source for our capital improvement plan. Next slide, please. With that, wanted to share a little bit about our commercial growth over the last few years. If you look at the very bottom of this graph, prior to 2020, we had about 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. Well, if you look at 2025, more than 10% of all that we have in Maricopa in terms of commercial growth occurred in 2025.

And we saw a 70% increase from 2024 in terms of our commercial growth. So we are rocking and rolling. Um really the commercial space that we have in Maricopa has doubled over the last eight years. So if you sit and think about that, if you've come in the last eight years, you've seen a redoubling of of that commercial space. And we're only growing up um in terms of how much we see and and the commercial activity that we see. And so really what I would I would say is if you're interested in investing in Maricopa, now's the chance. uh get in before we're even hotter because uh there's a lot of need and a lot of desire for our community to have new sitdown restaurants, have new places to shop, and especially have new uh employment opportunities. So looking forward to seeing what happens in 2026. And uh I think that um just goes to one final slide. And again, we talked a little bit about this last time. We've added a tab on what's new Maricopa and just wanted to ensure that everyone has an opportunity again to know that we are putting projects on here that we are currently reviewing. That is something that I don't know many other cities, if any, are doing, but we want to provide all the opportunity we can to inform our public of what may be coming. It's not a guarantee that these things will come, but this is an opportunity for us each to participate in that process. And so we truly feel feel that when we involve the public and we involve neighbors and we can receive comments from from everyone in the process that that will yield better results. And so that's what we're trying to do here. So by all means please go and and visit what's new Maricopa. There's a tab on there for both residential and commercial, what's in review, what our team is currently looking at. There's contact information on there where if you have ideas and comments, please provide those to our team and let's get a better product and

let's do all that we can to to continue to make Maricopa thrive. So, um, as well as, um, all of that information, there's also copies of the the actual submitts on there, so you can see, for example, a site plan for a site or, uh, elevations or whatever may be included within that planning package. So, really tried to provide as much information as possible. Again, um we're doing all that we can to to provide the highest level of service possible and looking to do the best that we can for the public. So, with that, that's the report for today. Happy to take any other questions you may have.

Thank you very much, council. Any questions? All right, seeing none, we will go to the call to the public this evening. I have five speaker cards and so we'll go to the first speaker card that I have is John Corwin. John, if you'll make sure the green button is on.

Test. There we go. Okay. All right. Uh, Mayor Smith, Vice Mayor Manf Freddy, council members, thank you for uh the opportunity to talk tonight. I wanted to get up here and just provide a few updates. Um, some customer resources that are available and also just some some events that we've uh participated in recently in the community. And so, um, I'm kind of talking to the the audience as well as council here as well. So, um, I guess the first thing is, you know, we're great weather right now, uh, but unfortunately warmer weather is coming and that means now is a great time to prepare for the summer as as it relates to water usage. And so a couple resources that are available to to customers are first uh last year Global Water rolled out a smart irrigation controller rebate program where customers who purchase a water uh I guess it's a water sense smart irrigation controller and install it can apply to receive a rebate of up to $100 back for that that irrigation controller. And obviously uh smart irrigation controllers can help conserve water and and ultimately save money as well. So, I wanted to highlight that customers that want more information can go to gwresresources.comconservation-education. Um, and to actually apply for the the rebate, you can go to your customer portal, log in, and apply for it online. So, wanted to highlight that. The second thing is all customers have access to uh water notifications, leak notifications, high consumption alerts, things along those lines. And that's a free resource. And I know many of the council members have talked about how they've benefited from that uh at their own homes. And so I just wanted to highlight that because it is again a free resource as we go into the summer when there's higher consumption. It's an opportunity to catch a leak before it becomes, you know, an unexpected bill. Uh which nobody wants to see. So I wanted to highlight that as well. Um, in terms of some of the events that are going on in the community that we're participating in, uh, first we we were at the senior expo, which it sounds like that was a great turnout and we were able to

provide conservation information at that event. Um, additionally, we'll be participating in some events to benefit school children. Uh, the first is the Maroba water festival that's coming up here on February 19th. And so that's in coordination with MUSD where we uh teach kids about the water cycle, water conservation, and just kind of a hands-on experience as it relates to water, which is really important here in Maricopa. And then lastly, uh we'll also be uh put sponsoring a water conservation. Um it's actually a puppet show, so we hire a a professional puppeteer, which sounds kind of funny, but it's kind of a fun way to learn about conservation. Um and and again, that's at the local elementary schools. We have one at uh I guess it's at uh Saddleback Elementary coming up on February 26, but we do these kind of throughout the year as well. Again, as an opportunity to educate, um elementary kids on uh conservation and just water in general. So, uh thanks for the time. Uh more things to come in the future, but I just wanted to highlight those those few events. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much, John. Our next speaker is Garrett Bower.

[clears throat]

Hello everyone. Uh my name is Garrett. I just wanted to introduce myself. Uh allow you guys to see my face. Um I uh I currently reside in Chandler. Uh but I'm a part of Living Word Maricopa. I believe you've been there uh mayor. Uh but uh it's a pleasure to be here and and I'm thankful for the time that I have to to express myself. So uh currently what I do is I I work two jobs. I I'm a knockout fitness instructor. I also am a business developer for 123 Compliant Logistics up in Phoenix. I go to school at Grand Canyon University. I have a coffee business that I I try to run on the side. Uh I'm a youth leader, uh an outreach leader and and the coffee guy at church. So, um that's what I do. Uh I just wanted to express, you know, kind of what my plans were for for what I wanted to do in the city. uh since I just got appointed to be an outreach leader and I would really love to just come and love on the community, bless people anywhere I can and be with the city of Maricopa and all their events that they hold and just get to get to really bless people and and enjoy life, encouraging messages, whatever it may be. Um, you know, the the church would like to hold or host an event once a year. Um, and you know, whether that being like a cool car show or a festival or something like that, I would love to know the licensing or the permits needed to to do something like that. Um, but yeah, that's that's pretty much who I am and and and what I intend to do in this beautiful city. I tend to move out here, too, as well. So, um, yeah, I I appreciate the time. Thank you very much.

Very good. Garrett, it's nice to meet you. I was gonna ask you, hey, what does it take to get you to move out here? No, I'm just I'm just teasing. I'll wait till after you're done with school. Okay, our next speaker is Judith Seam. [clears throat] Good evening everyone. Um, I'm one of four arts professionals who volunteer our services as co-directors of Maricopa Arts Council, an independent nonprofit whose rubric is empowering the arts in our city. We've been in existence since late 2012 and have brought many types of arts experiences for the first time to the city of Maricopa in the in the realms of literature. uh theater, dance, music, and of course, visual arts of all kinds. I'm here tonight to talk about a particular MAC event that's moving into its 14th year of offering, our free lecture series, presented this year jointly with the library, inside the creative mind. We've the series already began on January 10th with a young author who specializes in um uh creating books that meet the needs of middle a middlegrades readers. And we have two wonderful presenters in February on February 7th and February uh 28th who uh include an bagpiper extraordinaire who's also a stained glass master and a skilled and very soughtafter artisan in wood. But I'm here tonight to talk in particular about our upcoming lecture this Saturday. These lectures are free.

They're on Saturdays at the library. Saturday afternoons at 3 PM at the library. Everybody is welcome. Um, this year we expanded our purview to go beyond the arts, pure and simple, into creativity in life at large. And so it is a great honor this Saturday to present one of Maricopa's most esteemed and very active and productive citizens who has um held leadership positions galore in the city including many terms on the city council, a term as vice mayor and um currently leader of Maricopa Night Market and Maricopa Seniors. She's president of Maricopa Seniors. Peg Chapados. Peg, would you please stand up? [applause] Um, Peg Chapados, in addition to everything she does for the civic side of the city, has personal passions in the creative arts. As an artisan, she specializes in quilts and embroidering the most tiny little little um items. However, what she's presenting on Saturday is none of the above. She is the innovator, creator of and realizer of a whole series of board games that are absolutely fascinating and hugely fun to play. I uh this Saturday we present board game Maestra Peg Chapidos. Everyone is invited and Maricopa Arts Council is extremely grateful for all the support it has received from many city council members. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you from Maricopa Community Foundation and from some private individuals in the city. This enables us

to do our good work. Come on Saturday. Let's have fun and play some games. [cheering and applause] speaker. Thank you. Our last speaker card is Lisa Anderson. Hi, I'm back. I just want to say thank you real quick and Okay. I just want to say thank you, Mayor Nancy. It meant a lot to me that you and your husband came to Rocking the Stocking that um Henry and Gail. There were so many people that came and supported and that meant a lot to us. It made us feel like we were not invisible. So, thank you for that. I am here today actually to talk about a women's conference that we've been holding for 12 years. Um but this year there's something special happening. our Saturday session. So, the conference is girl Yes. Some of you may have may know what it is. We've sold out for the last three years and it's been really great. It's being held at Central Arizona College right here in Maricopa and it's February 20th and 21st. On the 21st, which is that Saturday, we are having a tree of life lunchon which includes highlighting entrepreneurs in the city of Maricopa businesses. We have eight speakers that are coming. We have CEOs, people from ASU, I mean in Kora and Shy just it's going to be a loaded session. It's going to be long, but it's going to be good. And we're also offering or having a Tree of Life lunch in which is of course a salad bar, but a salad bar with some protein because my husband won't come and we ain't serving no meat.

Okay. So, so that is that. Um, we are you can find us on Facebook. We do have a girl yes to life ate eventbrite.com that you can get your tickets. But I want to say this, this city is growing so rapidly and we know that there are people in their homes that want to start businesses because they're trying to stay afloat. They're trying to do whatever they need to do to get done what they need to get done. And we want to be a support to them. I know we're a church. We understand that. But we know we can serve more than just the people that come in those doors. And we intend to do it this year. So, normally it's for women, women only, but this year we've opened it up to men. I know they're happy about that. Who doesn't want to be in a room full of women? I understand that, especially amazing women. And this year, and I'm happy that I get to say this to you, I'm not sure. I don't want you to feel pressured to be there, but this year, our Golden Girl Award is going to you, Mayor Nancy Smith, because we know it takes a superhum to get that 347 done. And so [applause] we are grateful to you for that. We also have so we've had past winners like Gail. Gail's one of our winners. We have what's called the sparkle award and we award young women 13 to 17 who have started businesses are doing something leadership something in the city. We get we give them their kudos. Okay. And we also do it for women um just you know if you're 18 to 55 same thing. Um but there's giveaways there's all kinds of prizes. It's good. We we hold special honor for our seniors, our seasoned I'm I'm in that category now. So, our seasoned women where we have special seating for you and special pricing and so we want you to come out. It's going to be good. I'll be back next month.

Thank you. I made it. Y very good. Okay, that's the end of our speaker cards. Would anyone else from the audience like to approach the podium? Yes, please. State your name.

Jana Knox. Good evening everyone, mayor, vice uh mayor, and council men and women. On behalf of Maricopa Lifestyle Magazine, I'd like to invite you all to the Maricopa Desert Music and Arts Festival on Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th at the Maricopa High School. And just please contact myself or Crystal Ojan for more information or for tickets for that. That's all I needed to say.

Oh, short and sweet. I love it. Thank you very much. All right. Would anyone else Yes, Peg. Well, you still have to say your name. [laughter] Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council Peg Chapidos. Wow, what a great place to follow. Um, and I don't know if it's because you were gone for eight weeks, but this has been a great council meeting. Lots of fun, lots of good stuff. I have a few things to share. Um, we've got a unique opportunity coming up with a partnership that Cutting Edge Crafters Club that was just started last year is partnering with the Maropa Friends of the Arts and also with MUSD admin building. We're going to start to offer classes for students age. Right now, we're focusing on ages 14 to 18, but I want to encourage people to stop by the MFOTA tent at Copaultural Night Market. We'll have information. You can actually sign up and register there. We've got things like deccoage, weaving, uh woodworking, painting, sculpting, creative writing, all kinds of different arts and crafts. It's designed to be like a small private workshop and it'll be held during the summer break on a weekday during business hours at MUSD admin building. So, stop by the MFOTA, Maricopa Friends of the Arts tents, learn more about what we're doing, and sign up for for an arts and crafts class. Our goal is to eventually expand this to probably all ages, but we wanted to start slow. So, we picked the 14 and 18 year olds because we're constantly getting questions like where can my child go for a lessons in art, music, writing, reading, painting, whatever it happens to be. Um, I also want to I would be remiss to stand up here and not also thank a couple of other people regarding the senior info expo. I am so glad that that thing has continued because it is so important. But it wouldn't be here without Reverend Arnold Jackson and also Ron Smith. They did a lot once I passed the mantle and was no

longer on council. It's been a great event and all the vendors that we have, all the seniors that supported. I'm so glad that we continued that because it is very, very important. And lastly, I want to leave you guys with a little bit of trivia. So, one of the things I learned very early on being in Maricopa was the amazing people that we have in this city. Um, our police department and fire department, I would stack them up against anybody in the country. They're the best. Our volunteers, they step up constantly. Little bit of trivia. I don't know how many people know this, but this chamber is actually built to represent one of Maroba Wells. And as I look around the room and I hear the people that come up here and talk to you, the good news is the well is full. We have got some great people in Maricopa. If you want to make more of a connection tomorrow morning and every Wednesday morning from 9 to 11 at our museum right over by MUSD admin building, join us for coffee on the porch. It's free. You come, you sit on the porch, you meet people that have just moved here, people that have been here for ages, and we talk about a plethora of things. It's hosted by the Maropa Historical Society. So, stop by and thank you for what you guys do. Thank you for all what you guys do and have a great rest of your meeting.

Thank you, Peg. [applause]

All right. Would anyone else Yes, sir. Please. Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. We're gonna let this young lady come. She's been standing there waiting. But please come forward. Yeah. State your name, please. Ashley Anderson. Good evening, mayor, council members, and the general public. My name is Ashley Anderson, and I serve as the chair and commissioner for the Governor's Office of African-American Affairs, and I'm a resident of this great city of Maricopa. I would like to share brief details regarding the 2026 legislative and leadership conference hosted by the Governor's Office of African-American Affairs coming up in February. The conference is designed to bring together elected officials, municipal leaders, community advocates, and engage residents from across our state. Its purpose is to strengthen civic engagement, deepen understanding of the legislative process, and build leadership capacity that supports effective government at both the state and local levels. For 24 years, the Governor's Office of African-American Affairs annual conference has been a driving force for unity, empowerment, and progress in Arizona's African-American community. What began as a modest gathering has transformed into a week-long event offering opportunities to engage, collaborate, and celebrate the rich diversity and resilience of our community. The conference is rooted in our six pillars of youth, economic development, sustainability, health, education, and justice. And this event provides a platform to address key issues and foster dialogue. It'll kick off on February 9th and continue through February 14th. Most events will take place at our Arizona State Capital located at 1700 West Washington Street in Phoenix. Events will include a state of the state opening day given by Governor Katie Hobbes. A capital tour, a roots and legacy tour exploring South Phoenix rich African-American heritage and celebrating its history, culture, and lasting impact on the community. advocacy and legislative day, legislative engagement day, workshops, a day um dedicated to our youth, our youth leadership day where we have youth coming in from all across the state, our

unsung heroes awards ceremony where we'll be recogn recognizing those unsung heroes throughout Arizona and celebrating their work and is wrapping up on the 14th with a health and wellness day on the Senate and House lawn at the Capitol. So, we hope to have anyone that will be willing to join us. So, everyone is welcome. Um, again, this all starts out the week of February 9th and registration can be found on our website for the Governor's Office of African-American Affairs. So, thank you for your time today. Thank you. [applause] Hi, please state your names. Hi, so my name is Joseph Harvey. I'm the school counselor at Leading Edge. Mayor Washington, assistant principal at Leading Edge.

And we're just, you already mentioned it. Um January 30th we're going to do fire verse police. Um last year police won basketball. This year it's up again. Um thank the city for parks and rec donating the field out on Pakana to where we were hosting this event. January 30th 6 p.m. Um all proceeds go back to the or both organizations. 75% to the winner, 25% to the loser. Um it's just a good community event trying to reach out. Um, thank you to all the people who have helped us. $5 a person for tickets. Um, we're raffling off some items. All of the money from that goes straight to the organizations at the same time.

Okay. And our second event is our annual Underground Railroad and Black History program, which will take place on February 12th, um, starting at 5:00 p.m. We'll start with our Black History program from 5 to 6, where we have all types of entertainment and presentations and things like that. Um, Miss Ashley Anderson is actually our keynote speaker for that evening. And then after that, we'll have our interactive Underground Railroad. Um, where we'll have several rooms where you can go in and just see different information and learn about what the Underground Railroad is about. So, we do invite you to come out. It's a free event. Very good. Two wonderful events. Who did you say won the last competition? Police. Police.

Police won in like extreme fashion. like they they beat fire. I I just want to point that out there because I would be remiss if I didn't. Um not to say that fire can't play football. So I I I just want to share Chief Patassi, you're going to have to get this fire group going because in the rock in the rocket challenge, the police won also. So come on, Chief Patassie. A um we would be remiss if we didn't say all of our SSOs that come through are amazing human beings and then the times that we have have had fire up respond to the school. Amazing. So both of these organizations are great for the city. They're amazing with what they do to help us as a school. You guys as a city help us do our job. Um we're just trying to give back. We're building a community and I know as a charter school it's hard. Um but our doors are open to help the community in any way possible. Wonderful. [clears throat] Thank you.

All right. Would anyone else like to approach the podium and speak during the call to the public? All right. Seeing no one, I will close the call to the public. That'll take us to the next item, which is our consent agenda. Council, tonight we have items 7.1 through 7.10. Is there anything that you would like to pull? I do not have any speaker cards. Mayor, I would like to pull two items if possible. I would like to pull 7.1 and 7.4.

Okay. Very good. Is this for a conversation or um do you feel like pulling it separately and having the conversation outside of consent is the best way to go? Yes. So we can just have a brief conversation on both of them.

Okay. Perfect. All right. Anyone else? So, I have one change that I would like to make to item. I'm trying to remember which item it is. Um, it's the minutes from the founders meeting. That is item 7.7. And we don't have to pull it or anything. Just one change, Vanessa. Um, yes, I do read these. The time of the meeting was called to order is am not PM. Just a tiny little thing. So we don't just as long as we put it in the motion. I'm assuming we can handle it that way. All right. Anything else? Very good. Do I have a motion?

Yep. Motion to approve consent with the exception of 7.1 and 7.4 to be moved to regular and the change to and and the mayor's change to the minutes. Very good. Anyone else? Second seconded by council member Gtle. Any additional conversation? All in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed. That motion carries. Very good. So that'll take us to 7.1. And do we have someone who Yep. Thank you very much. Uh mayor, council members Rudy Lopez, devel director.

Sure. Thank you, Rudy. And I apologize, Rudy. Normally, I would give you this question before, but this all just happened right before. And I just wanted to make sure that with with the adoption of this new code, which you did a great job on. Thank you. And the explanation was fantastic, that will development services get something out to um you know, the developers, the builders, those folks on how this will be implemented. And if there's um a grace period for implementation, what and then things like if they were approved before this was adopted, are they grandfathered in or you know just questions like that if we could just get some sort of document um even just posted to the website maybe so that they just have clarity in terms of that. But I I support the underlying changes and I you did a great job with that. I just want to make sure that we have something posted to give people clarity on where they stand with the new adoption if that makes sense.

Yeah. Council member Nor mayor. Um yeah, we will have information we call like the rules of transition in a way.

Um so after if if it is approved as tonight, it's 30 days effective, but we are recognizing that um for example, all of our home builders, they have standard plans. Um builders will have up to maybe six to up to 20 standard plans and all those have to be updated. We are giving at least six months um up until September 1st to get their their standard plans up to date to 2024 codes from the previous 2018. So and then and then 30 days effective for any new construction um will utilize the new codes of 24. But for the home builders, we are going to give them some grace period to get their their their um building plans in order by September 1st of 2026. Great. And that'll be published in the rules of transition.

Correct. Great. Thank you. That's all I have. Very good. Any additional comments, questions on that item,

council? Oh, yep. Yes, please. Um, mayor, I sent an email about this last week and uh because I was worried to me, not worried, but I was um asking the question and how does it impact if if um here I'll just read the question. Make my life easy. Um, do the proposed code changes apply only to developers and new construction or they also impact individual homeowners who are simply repairing a or modestly upgrading existing homes. If homeowners are impacted, what safeguards are in place to ensure routine projects do not trigger additional requirements or full modern compliance that was not previously required? Um, I had an answer to it, but if you want, I'll just read the answer you gave me. Um, because I just wanted that out there because people asked me those questions and I asked them already of staff, which is

um, so for basic fix or upper task, no permits are are required, no changes apply. If they're seeking a permit, then the new standards would apply. Although not everything has seen a change. There may not have been meaningful changes as it relates to swimming pool design, for example, but they have been to for solar panels, electric vehicle charging, but licensed contractors will know the new standards because they are new in all cities and the new standards were vetted nationally. So, it's national standards in through all cities in in Arizona. Um this will not come as a surprise to them of course. In fact, some instances the code adoption may even be something they support because it is a new best practice based on the learn experience of the past six years. They've already implemented in many of their practices. The developers that uh the city has spoken to are supportive and um they'll be uh submitting under the new codes. So, so that was just, you know, in my head I was like, well, what's going to happen with this this this? And so I asked the the staff for that and they were able to supply all those answers and and actually some people actually asked me those questions and I sent them I'm Italian, hands go. Um, and so I sent them all those answers, too. So, but thanks for pulling it off because it allows it to go on the record, too. Thank you.

Yep. Great conversation. I appreciate it. Any additional comments, questions? Council member Nor, would you like to make a motion? Sure. Motion to approve. Motion approved to approve by Council Member No, seconded by Council Member Lman. Any additional comments, questions? All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. All right. Council member No. On item 7.4.

Great. Thank you. And I actually talked to our city manager about this prior to the meeting. I just thought that there was an article about this in in Maricopa and I know there was a lot of community interest in this and so I thought it'd be a great opportunity just to have chief or the city manager explain what happened and what's going on and this current status.

Council member Mccor, mayor, members of council, I appreciate the opportunity to uh speak about this. Earlier in November, we had a very unfortunate incident where a suspected drunk driver um crossed over the median and struck our ladder truck, Ladder 574. Um it was a a devastating impact to the vehicle and it's required us to go through a pretty extensive process of looking at the resources we have in the city and availability for reserve trucks. Um first and foremost, I applaud the members of the Maricopa Fire Department. you know, engineer Clauddio Rodriguez was behind the wheel at the time, and when I was notified of the incident, I would imagine going up to the scene and seeing a ladder truck um on its side, which is a typical of a side impact. Uh engineer Rodriguez saved his crew and also saved the lives of that um suspected impaired driver. Uh he's one of our emergency vehicle operator um evade course instructors. Um and within a heartbeat, all of that training went went to the incident. The other thing is um even though the firefighters were involved in the incident, the first thing they did was immediately kind of take a deep breath and go render care to the driver, which is incredibly difficult, especially under their circumstances. Um one of the the side that was impacted, the firefighter's door flew open during that impact. that same firefighter was the first one to respond to the driver to ensure that the driver was was okay and was willing to render aid um in case aid was needed at that time. Um two firefighters were transported to the hospital. I was with them at the hospital most of the night. They were treated exceptional care, released with minor injuries and have since made a full recovery, no loss time there. Um, the crew is doing really well and again I'm incredibly proud of the men and women that we have working for this department. We train for all these circumstances and we never want to get

those calls or never want to be involved in those scenarios, but their training and their background paid off in in um exceptional fashion. As for the vehicle itself, ladder 574 um incured tremendous amount of damage on the left side of that vehicle. are the team working behind it. Again, this isn't just a fire department issue. It's it's the team with risk management and fleet and the executive team. Um we came together pretty much that evening to start thinking about what's the long-term impacts of this. We currently now only have one ladder truck in service. Um th that's a circumstance that keeps the fire chief up at night. Ladder 574 was our second ladder company. Um, and now we're in a situation where we only have one inservice ladder company. Um, working with the vendor that we've uh ordered our last few trucks on, we were able to get um awareness that this uh fire truck that we're hopefully going to pursue purchasing tonight became available because the fire department that ordered it backed out. Traditionally, if we ordered a firet truck and a ladder truck especially, we're looking at a minimum of about a three-year delivery time. Um the prices are are through the roof. The delivery times are extended. Um representatives from the fire service and the manufacturing um organizations have actually testified in the halls of Congress about these delays. We were able to get this potentially acquire this truck because a fire department in Texas in Texas backed out of the sale. um vendor notified us immediately working with um city manager bidder and the executive team. We are capitalizing on an opportunity to get a brand new firet truck in nine months which is remarkable. Um it does impact our our CIP plan a little bit. So we're juggling

through that and looking at our 5 to 10 year vehicle CIP replacement. the, you know, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good and and in this circumstance, you know, it was a devastating accident um for our apparatus and our reserve fleet. However, we're able to, if approved tonight, we'll be able to take delivery on this vehicle in September and be back up to standard. So, then the question is, what do we do in the meantime? Um, one of the benefits of working in the automatic aid system is that we will always have a ladder truck coming. Unfortunately, if our truck is out of service, then that's going to be a 30 or 40 minute delay. Um, however, we will always have resources here. Um, and if we hit dire straits, that's when we all come together as fire chiefs in the region to figure out how to make it make it work for our area. So, I'm in constant contact with the fire chiefs in the area. We talked about this scenario at our last chief's meeting. Um, and so we're prepared for that as well. But again, you know, it was a a pretty horrendous call out to get as a fire chief to have your personnel impacted by that. Um, we really appreciated L ladder 574 um when I was in service, but the damage is detrimental at this point. This is when we came together as a as a team to make the request to capitalize on this opportunity to get a new vehicle.

All right. Any additional comments, questions for Chief Patassi? Just a brief one if I may, Mayor. Um, Chief Patassi, I don't know if you recall when when did we when were we notified that this truck was available? How was it weeks ago, days ago? Roughly? Uh, so it was I would say it was right before the winter break. So, it was in early I want to say it was in early December. Okay. So, the accident happened in early November and then we were notified this truck became available. I would say in early December. I don't have the exact date off.

No, no, that's fine. And mayor, the reason I I asked that question is I I'm concerned that if we delay that this might be an opportunity we miss out on. Um, heaven forbid this ever happen again where we need critical infrastructure service vehicles here in our city. And if we're on break, I would recommend we maybe even pull a special meeting to be able to handle this type of an issue quickly so that we can make sure we capitalize on these opportunities as they come up. But other than that, I'm I'm grateful. Thank you, Chief. And I'm very grateful that everybody was okay through this incident. It's the most important part. And thank you all for the consideration tonight. Thank you, Council Member Ghetto. Vice Mayor,

Chief, thank you so much for the information. You know, it's um it's it's a wonder that no one was seriously hurt in the accident and thankful that no one was hurt. And it's just a testament to our um department that the first thought on their mind was to render aid to the person that just crashed into them. Um so I I I mean I thank the fire department and everyone that was on that on that on that engine on that ladder truck for their just hard work that they do for us. And you know the good thing is it's just someone asked me they said why is this in consent? Why are we pushing this through so fast? And it's pretty simple. The city of Maricopa will do anything they can to make sure that our first responders have the equipment they need and everything they need to make sure that they can respond and take care of our folks. So, it's it's it's amazing we were able to get it because somebody told me that's cheap actually. Um and I was like, okay then. Um but I was told that is an actual a steal plus nine months instead of three years. We're looking at ambulance ambulances. I can't do it. I just can't do the ambulance thing. We're looking about multiple ambulance. Um and we're looking at two to three years out just to get an ambulance in the in the city. And amazing that we're able to get this for nine months. And it comes down to the fact that folks like um our chief here are just got their fingers on the pulse of what's happening in the the industry and you're able to just reach out and just get something done. So we have a good chief. if we have good staff and a good um city um staff that's able to rearrange everything and just get it done because that's what we need to do. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that. But on a quick note on that, it's not just me. It is we have apparatus committees where the firefighters are heavily involved in in the apparatus. We have great work with Denver over our fleet management and you know our executive team and the finance folks coming together with it's a it's a it's a giant uh it's a giant team that goes into action when when need be and pretty quick. So I may be the representative of that today but I'd be remiss if if I didn't give the credit where the credits due as well. Yeah 100%.

Well say oh go right ahead. I did get the question of how are we going to get reimbursed for it and all that stuff and I'm not going to go into that, but the legal team I know is working on making sure that we're finding every single way to make sure that we are reimbursed through every insurance possible and all that stuff and that's all being taken care of and that we'll take care of all of that. But the the fact is we had to act now. Yes. And then the rest of it will take care of itself as it as the time goes on. Thank you, Vice Mayor, City Manager.

Yeah. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And just to address uh a question from earlier, we are able to sign letters of intent on these items as soon as we are aware of them. And while it's not necessarily binding and really the binding action comes through the ratification from the city council, we don't spend a dollar until those trucks are actually delivered. And so when those trucks are delivered, we can then look at options for financing or all of those things. So, that's still on the table and we'll continue to research and continue to find out some of those answers in the coming weeks, months, and years uh as we go through with with the the purchase of a firet truck.

Perfect. Yeah, I figured that was pretty much the case. I know I wouldn't hesitate to call an emergency meeting. None of us up here would, but I appreciate the question and the response. City manager, any additional comments, questions? Seeing none, Council Member No, would you like to make a motion? Sure. Motion to approve. I have a motion to approve. Second. He beat you. Council member Wade. Second. Uh, any additional comments, questions? Yes, Vice Mayor. Just make sure just make sure the whole entire community and and everybody's invited to the roll in. Absolutely. [clears throat] Absolutely. Very good. Any additional comments, questions? All in favor say I. I.

Any opposed? That motion carries. Perfect. And before we go on to the regular agenda, I would like to apologize. Peg, I apologize. Your speaker card was connected stuck to Judith. It's because art sticks to art. I'm pretty certain of that. And I flipped past it. I apologize, but thank you for coming forward very much. Okay, that'll take us to agenda item 8.1. And council member, I believe this is your appointment. No, no, it's it's but I will need one next meeting. Okay. Thank you very much. Uh Perry, will you please stand?

It is my pleasure tonight to introduce Perry Holmes. Um Perry has lived in Maricopa for 30 years and he has been a commission artist for 20 years. Maricopa has a lot of shining treasures and I think Perry is kind of one of our hidden treasures. Um, he also serves on the advisory group for the city's vibrant arts grant and community arts grant. And I want to thank Perry for being willing to serve on the cultural affairs and arts committee. So, I would like to nominate him this evening to serve on that committee. Very good. Um, is there any comments, questions for Council Member Lairman?

I just want to add I got to see Perry's art at the Mac at Mac Farms uh gallery opening. I got to meet Perry as well and it was amazing. So yes, great addition to the committee. Very good. Okay, I believe I have a motion from Council Member Lurman and a second from Vice Mayor Man Freddy. Any additional comments, questions? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. Congratulations, sir. [applause]

All right, that'll take us to item 8.2, two, which is legislative platform, and Katie will be our presenter.

Good evening, mayor and council. Um, I do want to just start out tonight by taking a moment to acknowledge our team that makes all of this possible. Um, you all know our federal team at Nexus. They keep us on track. We have a state team at PDG, Policy Development Group, as well. And then our staff here at the city are really the backbone helping to analyze all the bills um that you're going to hear uh us talk about tonight. Um so without them we would not be able to do this and I appreciate their help very much. Make sure I know how this works again because it's been a year. Okay. So this is much the same as last year. There's only been one change actually to our leadership in the state uh senate and that was majority leader change out at the end of last session. So, uh, John Kavanaaugh is now the majority leader in the state senate. Um, as we start talking about the state, I want to just alert you to some fun facts. Um, as of today, 1185 bills have actually been introduced along with 77 resolutions and memorials. For reference, if we look back over the last few years in 2024, um, there were 911 House bills in the entire session. Uh, then 825 and 23, 873 and so on. So we have already seen more than pre most previous years to date right now and it's possible that you could see another 400 because House members are still allowed to introduce seven bills up until the end of the month. So that's going to be a little bit of fun this year. Um we're working through all those bills. I will say that so far I'm a little bit surprised at the number of new bills. Um and that is taking a little bit longer to work through. We're seeing some new stuff that we haven't seen before. It's always fun. I'm a legislative nerd and I love seeing all of it. Um, but it's going to take us a little bit longer to get through some of that in the beginning of the session. The other big thing that we're going to be talking about um, this session is obviously the budget. We did see the

first unveiling of the governor's budget plan last Friday. Um, and subsequently JBC presented their legislative baseline approach today. Uh, that conversation will continue throughout the remainder of session. Um and what we're seeing right now is that the initial numbers that have come back are actually pretty positive. Um we are doing okay right now, but with the okay means there's a lot of opportunity to talk about what they would like to spend. And so this will be an ongoing negotiation between the executive and the legislature uh for the foreseeable future during the session. The one thing I do want to point out is that so far we are not hearing interest in taking back any of the money that has been appropriated on the 347 by the legislature. Um to date that is a lot of money. It's 102 million I think right now and a significant portion of that is on that rig's TI. So we're very u positive at this point that um everybody seems to want to keep that money there. Uh we will continue to be vigilant about that as we go through the session though. Things can change right up until they sign die and we do not want that to change. Federal logistics um really not a whole lot of changes from last year. We do have a few vacancies still in the House of Representatives um that they're working through. The one thing I want to point out here, we just got some really great news today from Nexus. Um that the minibus appropriations bill that was introduced today includes our ambulance ask. So that's over $800,000 um that will be included right now in that bill and we are hopefully going to see that bill get signed into law by the end of this month. Additionally, the language that we've been asking for on self-administration, which would allow, for example, the city to uh be its own project manager and do our own project delivery if we are awarded money from the federal government for a transportation project, for example. That language is also in that mini bus. Um, and we will also be continuing to seek that language permanently in the

surface transportation reauthorization bill this year as well. We think it's a great policy and we're really excited that our um senators and representatives are seeing that as well. So, very fun times. Um we still have a ways to go to get that through the end, but I thought that was some really fun news and we're very excited and thankful for that. As we talk about our legislative platform, I just want to remind you that this is basically the direction that you give to staff on your behalf in terms of how you would like us to act in the uh legislative policymaking space. Um what we are looking for is broad uh statements essentially about what your goals and objectives are. And this does not preclude us from bringing these items back to you if something changes or if something new comes up. Um and there could be something that could come up that we would say, you know, I think we want to get a little bit more direction from council and we would bring that back to you for consideration. This platform is going to look a lot like your last year's platform because it pretty much is the same platform. we have really tried to streamline this to to the point that it really hits on the key issues that we face at the legislature um and really encourages that same uh trajectory in our policym. So obviously we're going to oppose anything that's going to take away local control whether that's in finance or governance and we're going to support things that that promote and strengthen local control areas where this will come up this year. We know there will be some food tax legislation again this year. This will be a prime example under that revenue and finance section um and under governance when we start talking about zoning and um pushes from the legislature to restrict your ability to make zoning decisions especially when it comes to housing. Moving forward, we have quality services. We're going to encourage the legislature uh to provide economic development incentives incentives and support legislation enhancing public safety. Um, and we're going to continue to support legislation that advances

infrastructure projects and their timely delivery. And we will of course oppose anything that takes that away. Um, and that will extend to any work that we do on the budget this year as well. If there is any effort in that space, I promise. On the federal side, we're looking at a lot of the same concepts. We really want to support transportation infrastructure funding. And again, we want to look for those streamlining efforts to make project delivery more efficient for our taxpayers. Um, we're really seeing some great things in that space right now with some of this language coming forward and we look forward to potentially taking advantage of that in the future. Council members, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Thank you, Katie. Council members, what questions, comments do you have? Council No. Sure. Thanks, Mayor.

She's moving the mic closer. I just thank you Katie for that great presentation. I just want to say that I think it's phenomenal that the self-administration was included in that legislation when I went with the mayor to DC last year. That's what we talked to all of our federal delegation about and they all seemed really open to it. And so, you know, but you never know with the federal government if something's going to get done or not. That's really exciting because that would really help for for folks to understand that will help us to get things done faster because right now we have to wait on AOT and ADOT has a lot going on and they have other projects and other communities that also have projects and they have a limited staff and so this will help us to move any funding and projects that we get uh through faster and um hopefully more effective and efficiently too. So that's great news. Thank you Katie.

Thank you council me. Any additional comments, questions? I'd like to jump on that as well. That was fun. Um, our staff came up with that. Katie, was that you basically or who's it was somebody's idea? I think it was Katie's. Um, and it was so much fun because it was almost as if it was a novel idea. They're like, "Whoa, I've been looking for something like this." And, uh, to see it come to fruition um is very, very exciting. It came from the city of Maricopa, so pretty fun. Um Katie, I did want to comment to you and to city council and to our guest tonight that in the Senator Kelly briefing this morning, um he did talk about the appropriations bill and he agreed entirely with you that it looks like it's going to be approved and we're excited about that also because we have items that hopefully are going to be in that appropriations bill. So that was exciting to hear. All right, any additional comments, questions? Yes, Council Lman.

Katie, can you expand a little bit more on your comment about possibly losing some local control regarding housing?

Sure. Um, so, Mayor and Council Member Lurman, we continue to see legislation every year um in this space where they're focusing on starter homes, for example. And the legislation would do things like restrict the minimum lot size that a city could require. So last year, one of the bills that was moving along would have required us to not be able to ask people to have larger than 1500 square foot lots. So if you look at that and you look at traditional setbacks, a 1500 foot lot means you're doing a seven a 600 square foot house or a,200 foot house on top of each other. um taking away your ability to set what your neighborhoods look like, increasing density with no consideration for impacts on infrastructure, impacts on schools, impacts on services, um and taking away your aesthetic design as well, which I think we've heard from folks is really disturbing because if you can't have input into what your community looks like, um you have to trust that the legislature is doing what you want them to do. So, we've worked on a lot of those. We've been able to push back all of those types of bills, but they do continue to crop up.

Thank you very much. So, in spite of um pressure from the local level, the state is continuing to push for taking more control, taking away control from the local level. Thank you very much. Very good. Any additional comments, questions? Seeing none, do I have a motion to approve the legislative platform? So moved. So moved by Vice Mayor Man Freddy. Do I have a second? Seconded by Council Member Gtle. One opportunity. One last opportunity for comments. Yes, C. Vice Mayor

Katie. Thank you. That's my That's my comment. The hard work that you do for this city, it goes unrecognized sometimes. And I truly do believe that without you, we don't get the 347 funding combined that we got. we don't get a lot of things done. Self-determination was a thing that you worked very hard to get done and it's it's a testament to how hard you work with how successful we are as a city. Thank you. [applause]

We embarrass her all the time. Uh we embarrass a lot of our staff all the time. But [laughter] congratulate Yes. Um all right. So, seeing no additional comments, do I have a motion to approve? We did. I did that. Sorry, I got so excited about celebrating people. I love to celebrate people. So, I have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. So, Dennis, um, may I adjourn this meeting and do a motion to go into e session? Is that the proper way of We'll adjourn this meeting and we'll go into an executive session. No, no further action will happen tonight because we're just going into an executive session and the council can't vote in executive session. Very good. Do I need a motion to go into e session? Yes. Okay.

So, I adjourn this meeting and I have a motion from C Vice Mayor Man Freddy, seconded by Council Member Wade. All in favor to go into e session? I. Any opposed? That motion carries. Thank you all.