City - Regular Meeting

Regular session mayor and city council meeting 6. P. M. Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026 city home. Council chambers call this meeting to order please rise for the pledge of allegiance.

The.

Can I have everybody continue standing? I would like to that moment of silence for Mr. Parada that lost him yesterday. Give us a moment of silence for Mr. Parada.

Thank you very much.

Okay, we got a call to public. Jeremy Yamamoto.

OK, thank you. OK, I'm here to invite everybody to come to the table. This is an event that's happening in Washington DC. They're getting together on the 24th, 25th and 26th and they're going to come together. Worship the Lord in the mall and they're going to have prayer and they're going to have communion together. As children of God, we should come together to have communion and pray for one another. And we're going to hold this event here in Nogales. It's going to be on the 25th and the 26th. Now, it's a smaller coming together. We're just going to two hours on Friday night from 7 to 9 and two hours on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. And we will come and worship, pray, and receive communion. And I'm here to invite all of you to come and join us. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next we have Mr. Kevin Portillo Ochoa.

Hi, good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and I'm going to try to keep this pretty brief. It's a, it's a pretty internal issue that we've been having. So, my family were responsible for the renovations are taking place over here on system hotel. So, we've in total, we've invested pretty much close to. well, nearly $2 million into the renovation, right? Initially, we started the project in an attempt because it was our understanding that the city had a necessity or they're basically trying to create more apartments in the community, right? Create a better opportunity for housing, et cetera. And so we decided that we would try to assist. And so throughout the time that we've been renovating and we felt like we've continued to hit barriers, walls, obstacles, Um, specifically with, um, a hydrant issue that we're having here on on grant, as you guys know, um. Grand is a state. Highway right? So it's not like anybody can just go and close it down. Right? No contractor has the power to just do that on their own. So we've gone through multiple people to try to get this resolved and we continue to hit barriers. We've tried having meetings with. I don't want to name drop anybody, but the point is that we've gone to multiple levels and it's always been like, such and such person can't help you in the city because he's extremely busy. He's an important person in the community and we don't have time for you guys. Somebody else will take care of this for you. And then nothing ever gets taken care of. And so specifically, my main issue right now is, like I mentioned before, we've invested a pretty dollar into this project. And so, like I said, we continued to hit bury after bury after bury. When we barely got our permit approved, right, it was pretty much said all we would have to do was renovate the project. I mean, it's an existing building. There shouldn't be much to it. But then they said, you know what, we're going to require X amount of things. You have to go to the fire department and take care of these things, right, which is understandable. I mean, it's a completely different structure. intention for the structure. So something that obviously needs a few things, a few modifications, but the fire extinguisher, the international fire code only requires 600 feet right from the building. And then from what we have, we're 200 feet away from the fire extinguisher. So why is the city requiring us to have that? Well, it's 600 feet as long as we have a sprinkler system installed, which we do. So From what we've been told, the requirements for Nogales are 200 feet. So we're 250 feet away from it. So why is the city requiring us to install a fire extinguisher at our expense? And so, like I said, we've tried to go through the proper channels, and it really seems like every single turn, it's, don't worry, we're gonna take care of you, you're in the right hands, we're gonna get you the information you need in writing, and then they close the door on us, and then we're back to square one. And so that's why I'm here today. Like I said, the main thing is just the fire extinguisher, right? No contractor wants to do the work. And at this point, like I said, we've already invested all this money, all this time, and we're getting very close to the – we're getting very close. So, yeah, that's pretty much the point. Thank you, sir.

What's your name again?

My name is Kevin Portillo. All right. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Next we move to, that's the last one, Miguel? No more call to public. Okay, next we move to recognitions. Presentation of the Arizona of Cities and Towns 20-Year Service Award to Councilwoman Esther Melendez-Lopez in recognition of her years in public service. Do you have it? I have it. Mr.

So, um, a couple of weeks ago, uh, if you don't know a constant woman, uh. Lopez has been a councilwoman. Actually, she went back, different types of former government here in the city of Nogales. So she's been doing this for 20 years now. So the state of Arizona, actually the League of Arizona Cities and Towns recognized her for her 20 years of service. So if we can all just stand and just clap for her and recognize her.

I wasn't born yet, so. Congratulations.

They go every four years.

20 is enough. 20 is enough.

Ms. Montiel, do you have something? Thank you.

I just want to say the last few years that I've been here, it's been a pleasure working with you, Mrs. Lopez. You've always been a fine person, and it's not just fun to work with you, but I've learned a lot from you. Thank you for your service to the city of Nogales.

It's really been a pleasure. So I'm so proud of being part of this community and be part of all of you. Thank you very much.

Congratulations. Thank you. Go ahead, Mr.

I have to say that every administration, including when I was mayor. We always counted on your wisdom, your knowledge, experience you had already. So I don't see a former mayor, but I'm sure he could say the same thing. Mayor Maldonado has been fortunate to have you serve also with him. So thank you for your service. You made our jobs a lot easier. Thank you. Thank you.

Good job, Ms. Melendez. Go ahead.

Yes. I also want to congratulate Councilwoman Melendez. She's been a kind of a inspiration to some of us and she's been here for so long and she served the community very well, especially in the downtown area with her Hispanic Fiestas de Mayo and Fiestas Patria and all that. I hope she continues to do that even if she's not in the council. Thank you. Thank you for your service.

Thank you Mr. Melendez and congratulations. Next we move to number 5, Proclamation A, Suicide Prevention Month. Vice Mayor?

Proclamation Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Whereas a suicide is a serious public health concern that affects individuals, families, friends, workplace, schools, and communities, and its impact can be felt across all ages and backgrounds. And whereas mental health challenges, substance use, isolation, trauma, significant life changes, and other circumstances can increase an individual's vulnerability, Making awareness prevention, early intervention and access to appropriate support essential and whereas suicide prevention is a shared community responsibility and increasing public understanding of warning signs available sources and ways to support individuals experiencing emotional distress distress. can help save lives, and whereas stigma, fear, and lack of information can prevent individuals and families from seeking help, open, compassionate, and informed conversation about mental health and suicide prevention can encourage people to reach out for support and Whereas the City of Nogales recognizes the dedication of behavioral health professionals, healthcare providers, first responders, educators, law enforcement, community organizations, family advocates, peer support specialists, and volunteers who work to prevent suicide and support individuals and families affected by suicide. Whereas strengthening connections among individuals, families, schools, healthcare providers, government agencies, and community organizations help create a community where people know they are valued, supported, and connected to resources when they need them. And whereas Suicide Prevention Awareness Month provide an opportunity To educate our community, reduce stigma, promote hope and resilience, encourage individuals to seek help, and remind our residents that suicide is preventable and that asking for help is a sign of strength. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Nogales City Mayor and Council do hereby proclaim the month of September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in the City of Nogales, Arizona, and encourage all residents, business, schools, healthcare providers, organizations, and community partners to join in raising awareness about suicide prevention, learning to recognize warning signs, reducing stigma surrounding mental health, and help seeking supporting those who may struggle in promoting hope, connection, and access to appropriate resources to our community. In witness thereof, we hereunto set by hand cause to the affixed Great Seal of the City of Nogales and Santa Cruz County, Arizona, Mayor Jorge Armando Nado.

Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. Is Ms. Blanca here? Pat, come on up, Pat.

Thank you very much.

Thank you and thank you Pariposa Clinic. Thank you for your support. Next we have, uh, presentations presentations of certificates of nomination. Go ahead.

We're presenting here the certificate of nomination for, uh. Our current mayor, he won the recount election by 3 votes. So, Mr mayor.

And I want to let everybody know it was a pleasure and it was a struggle getting in there, but I am here for the city as everybody has seen it. I do what I do for the community out of my heart and I will continue to do it. Hopefully I get those votes. Thank you. Next, Oso Wash by Mr. Joaquin Marufo Ruiz. Ms. Montiel.

Here you are. Thank you. I've requested that Mr. Marufo, am I saying your name right?

Correct.

Marufo, present to council and the public regarding the Oso Wash. Obviously, it's very important to the City of Nogales and the surrounding areas. So it's my pleasure to have you present tonight and thank you very much for being here.

Of course, thank you. Good evening council members, mayor and the public in general. Thank you for having me and for the invitation, especially to Councilwoman Montiel. I'm here to talk about an issue that is very close to the city of Nogales and that ADEQ has been working on these for several years now. I'm here to present what we have done, what we have found as part of our research that we've done for many years, and most importantly, where we are headed. I have my notes here because if I don't follow my script, I might go over the time. So let me start by explaining why El Tawash is more than simply a wastewater issue. What we're seeing in Oso Wash is really a symptom of a larger problem. On the Mexican side, there are two wastewater treatment facilities that you see here on the map serving this area in Nogales, Sonora. Puerta de Anza is one of these plants, and it has a capacity of about 1 million gallons per day. And Lomas de Anza is approximately 0.7 million gallons per day. As the population and development in this area grow, the demand placed on the infrastructure has increased. When the system experiences operational failures or becomes overloaded, wastewater can enter the Oso Wash. And because the watershed is connected across the international boundary, those flows eventually reach Arizona and the Santa Cruz River. For us, the concern is very straightforward. We don't want untreated or inadequately treated wastewater crossing the border into our community and ultimately reaching the Santa Cruz River. Our monitoring has confirmed E. coli and other microbial indicators. And looking ahead, continued growth means that without improvements on both sides of the border, the pressure on the system could increase. So this isn't about pointing a finger at anyone's jurisdiction or anyone's facility. It is about recognizing that we have a shared system and we need a shared solution. Next slide, please. To understand why this matters to Nogales, we need to take a look at the watershed. Ossawash is part of the upper Santa Cruz Basin, a watershed that crosses the international boundary. What happens upstream can ultimately affect communities downstream. This map gives you the broader context. We have groundwater resources, surface water, communities, wastewater infrastructure, and natural systems all interconnected within this basin. So when we talk about Osowash, we are really talking about the health and resilience of a much larger watershed that is important to Nogales and to Santa Cruz County. Next slide, please. This map here shows the area we've been focusing on. From the international boundary to where Osohuas meets the Santa Cruz River, we're talking about roughly 1.8 miles. It's a relatively small geographic area, but it's a very important one. This is essentially the pathway that we are concerned about when transboundary flows occur. And over the years, we spent quite a bit of time in the field trying to understand what is happening along this stretch, where the flows are coming from and how they are moving. And most importantly, where we might have an opportunity to intercept them. That's really important because if we're going to invest in a mitigation system, we want to put it in the right place and design it for the way that this particular watershed behaves. For the city, I think the important takeaway is that there is a defined geographic area where we can potentially make a meaningful difference. Next slide. This photograph is one of the earlier pieces of documentation that really illustrates the issue. This is from 2020. You can actually see wastewater flowing across the border and into the wash. And I think it's helpful to show this because sometimes when we're talking about watersheds and infrastructure, the problem can sound very abstract. When you see the water physically moving through the wash, you can see the connection immediately. This is really what prompted us to say, we need to understand this better. We need to monitor it. We need to understand the source. We need to start thinking about what we can do here in Arizona while the larger infrastructure issues are being addressed on the Mexican side. Next slide. Since then, we have continued to monitor the area. We've had field observations of wastewater running through the Osawash in 2022, 2023, 2024, I mean, 25, and I'll explain why 2024, we skipped this year here. And most recently in March of this year. This gives us several years of observation rather than a snapshot from one particular event. And that's important because we're not basing our understanding on one simple event. We're building a record over time. We've been able to see how conditions change over time and under different circumstances. And that's really helped us move from simply documenting a problem to asking a more useful question. What can we actually do about it? Next slide. This is probably the slide that puts everything together. The Otho Wash-Rigwood Canyon watershed is about 10.5 square miles. You can see the two wastewater treatment plants here, the existing urban development, the cattle grazing areas, and the path of the wash. And then there's something else that really stands out to us, the plant growth in Mexico. We're looking at approximately 4,000 acres of urban growth over the next couple of years. So the issue isn't just what we're dealing with today. We have to ask ourselves, what is this going to look like in the next five or 10 years? If development continues, the demand on the wastewater system is going to continue increasing. That's why we believe the long-term answer has to include additional wastewater capacity in Nogales, Sonora. But at the same time, we have to protect Arizona today. We can't wait for every long-term infrastructure project to be completed before we address the flows that are reaching our side of the border. So we really are looking at two things happening at the same time, source control in Mexico and protection and mitigation here in Arizona. Our goal is to get ahead of the problem rather than continue reacting to it. Next slide. One question that naturally comes up is, how do we know where the contamination is coming from? And that's where the work comes in. In 2020, ADQ partnered with the University of Arizona to conduct a DNA-based microbial source tracking. What we found was evidence of both human and rumiant fecal sources. So we have wastewater as one contributor, but also have cattle grazing in the watershed. That's important because we don't want to oversimplify the problem. So we have multiple potential sources within the watershed. The presence of human associated marker reinforces the concern about wastewater infrastructure and the contribution of wastewater to the contamination we are currently seeing. Next slide. I also want to acknowledge the improvements that have been made on the Mexican side. This slide shows equipment installed in 2024 and provided by ADEQ to improve wastewater treatment operations on the existing plants in Mexico. These investments matter to us because the best way to prevent a transboundary wastewater problem is to address it at its source. ADEQ continues to support and encourage those infrastructure improvements. We want the wastewater system in Nogales, Sonora to have the capacity and reliability necessary to prevent these events from happening. But infrastructure improvements take time. And even with improvements, you can still have operational problems and unexpected events. So that's where our thinking about Arizona contingency system comes in. It's not a replacement for wastewater infrastructure. It's another layer of protection. Next slide. We also wanted to make sure that whatever we proposed was based on good science. So ADQ partnered with the USGS to better understand the hydrology of the Oso Watch watershed. The study looked at things like peak flows, sediment movement, and infiltration among others. And that matters because we're not trying to put a conventional treatment plant in the wash. We're looking at a system that works within the landscape. So we need to understand how water moves through this particular area, where it concentrates and how the watershed responds to different conditions. That information is helping us make better decisions about where and how a mitigation system could work. Next slide. So stepping back for a minute, this is really what ADQ has been doing. We've been taking three approaches. First, monitor and document. We've been sampling since 2020, looking at E. coli, microbial sources, and documenting wastewater events. Second, collaborate. And this has really been a team effort. We've worked with OMAPAS in Nogales, Sonora, the Santa Cruz County, IVWC, EPA, the NatBank, USGS, and many other partners. And that's especially important here because no single agency can solve this issue. And third, long-term solutions. That's where the nature-based mitigation system comes in. We're trying to move from simply responding to individual events to creating some resilience in the system. And ultimately, we'd like to have both, better wastewater infrastructure upstream and an effective contingency system here in Arizona. We're trying to move from response to resilience. Next slide. And that brings us to where we are today. ADQ and Santa Cruz County have entered into an agreement to move forward with the first phase of a nature-based mitigation system. The basic idea is pretty simple. If contaminated flows enter Arizona, can we capture them, contain them, and treat them before they continue downstream? Phase one is really about getting the engineering right. We co-funded a 15% engineering design concept and construction cost estimate. The total phase for phase one was about $36,000 with contributions from ADQ and Santa Cruz County. The current estimate for phase two construction is about $2.5 million. And I want to emphasize that this is an estimated future construction cost. We're not at that stage yet. Our immediate goal is to complete the design, demonstrate that the concept is viable, and then identify outside funding to move it forward. So, next slide. What does a nature-based system actually mean? We're essentially trying to use the natural characteristics of the wash to help us. We're looking at things like cascading check dams, which can help aerate the water. We can potentially use the tension to increase exposure to sunlight and UV. And we're also looking at targeted use of copper. And then there are natural processes such as dilution that can contribute under certain conditions. The attraction of this approach is that it can have a relatively low environmental footprint. It can be more cost effective than conventional infrastructure, and it can be designed to require relatively little maintenance. But I want to make one thing very clear. This is not intended to replace wastewater treatment in Mexico. We're not trying to turn Arizona and the OthoWash into the wastewater treatment system for Nogales, Sonora. We're trying to protect Arizona when transboundary flows occur. And ideally, this approach would eventually be coordinated along the wash on both sides of the border. Next slide. And I want to spend a little time on this slide because it's important that we recognize the work that has happened in Mexico as well. The municipality, through OMAPAS in Nogales, Sonora, has implemented a number of emergency measures, including temporary detention of influence, cleaning and rehabilitation work, and other operational measures. And then there's the longer-term infrastructure investment. Mexico's federal government and the state government are working in expanding capacity, treatment capacity. We're talking about approximately $12 million of investment, with Puerto de Anza planned to increase from $1 million to $2.5 million, and Lomas de Anza from $0.7 to $1.14 million gallons per day. Those investments are really important because they address the underlying problem. From ADQ's perspective, we want to see those efforts continue. And at the same time, we want to make sure that we have an effective contingency system here in Arizona. So again, it is really both sides working together. So where do we go from here? Next slide, please. So where do we go from here? We have five things we're focusing on. First is funding. We need to identify resources to move the project from design into implementation. Second is research on UV and copper. We want to make sure that the technologies we're considering actually provide the level of treatment we're expecting under also wash conditions. Third, continued monitoring. We'll continue sampling on both sides of the border and sharing that information. Fourth is a binational pilot. And I think this is particularly important. We don't want to develop an Arizona solution in isolation. We want to look at how this approach could work on both sides of the border. And then ultimately, the goal is implementation. We want to get to the point where we have a functioning mitigation system that provides another level of protection in Arizona. I would like to recognize our partners at Santa Cruz County, Jesus, Luis Carlos, Chris, Colleen, and Ernest. They have been great partners to ADEQ throughout this process, and we really appreciate your commitment and leadership working with us on our solution. And through all of this, we will continue working closely with our partners from Mexico. Finally, Last slide, please. Mayor and council members, thank you again for your time. I will leave you with this one thought. Osoguache is a local issue, but the solution has to be binational. We have a responsibility to protect the community here in Nogales and to protect the Santa Cruz River. At the same time, we need to continue working with our partners in Mexico to address the infrastructure challenges that are contributing to the problem. And I think what we are trying to accomplish with this effort is a good example of how we can do it, how we can do both. We can support a long-term infrastructure solution upstream while also creating greater resilience and protection here in Arizona. But ultimately what we're trying to do, move from reacting to wastewater events to being better prepared for them. And we think that a nature based approach gives us an opportunity to do that in a way that is practical, sustainable and collaborative. Thank you very much. Yes.

Thank you. Go ahead, Mr.

On that first phase of the funding, since it's a joint mutual effort internationally from across the border to this side, could you kind of piggyback on that bank? Because they kind of help on loans that affect international systems like this one. And I think there's already a move to to get some money from that bank, maybe that could be piggybacked on that same process. Have they looked into that?

Yes, we have. And for the first phase, it was just a conceptual project that was developed by an engineering firm. And it was contributions from Santa Cruz County and ADQ. That was the first phase, which resulted in the overall cost estimate of $2.5 million. So what the NADBank or actually EPA is doing through the NADBank in one of their reporter financial programs is they're working on the Mexican side. And actually next week, we're going to bring some of the consultants that were hired by the NADBank. So they also watch on the on the side, the U.S. side of the also wash because they're going to start the process for the project that they have already certified for Mexico in expanding the plants. So, yes, nothing has been a resource for the Mexican side. Thanks for the question. The timeline for the actual implementation of the contingency system. Once we secure the funding and we are looking at different venues and working with the county as well, the construction phase should last about a year and a half, and that includes the pilot program on both sides of the border. So it's about once we have the funding, about a year to two years of the construction and implementation.

Go ahead, Mr. Go.

On the map, it was hard to tell the boundaries, but it's pretty close to the area where the city has 500 acres out there by Brickwood Lake. Is that area affected by those?

Yes. Some of the properties that we're looking at are the majority owned by the city. And that's a conversation that I understand the county is having also with private owners that are part of this stretch.

Thank you. Anybody else? Thank you, Joaquin. And, you know, I was in San Antonio this past weekend, and we talked about this also watch, and they're looking, I know they're heavily looking into supporting both the county, the city, and by national, you know, Gallo Sonora. So, you know, I got very good feedback from them on their support. So, you know, They asked us to move forward and continue to help them, you know, make a plan and see what we could do there to solve the binational issue.

Great.

Thank you. Go ahead.

Mr. Vanderbilt, can you come up? I want to personally also thank you. I know you have a couple of things to say. Yeah. Well, he's not done yet, but if you could come up with...

Excuse me, and thank you very much for the brief moment to participate. My name is Brian Vandervoort. This is Ben O'Malley. Ben was the author of some of those photographs. So he and I are deeply involved in this issue. I want to inform the entire council that Ben and I have led tours. We practically have a sign on my truck. We've taken Lisa, we've taken Mr. Francis, we've taken the mayor, we've taken multiple people from the county. And if anybody here on the board would like to go out the Oso Wash with us, Ben and I would be happy to take you and give you more information to help you make better decisions. What Joaquin mentioned that I think is critical is the Osa Wash crosses either on or adjacent to city property. This is a critical reason why this is a very important city issue here. You have raw affluent crossing on city property. You need to be informed. You need to participate in the decisions. Now, Ben, do you have anything you'd like to comment?

I'd like to say that just a few miles downstream from where Osa Wash joins the Santa Cruz River, is the little red pumping station that supplies potable water for our city here. So it also has the potential and the risk of affecting the potable water system for the city of Nogales, and that's important. The shooting range for the law enforcement is right there. just downstream from the border where this also wash crosses into the United States. So the sooner we get on it and work closely with our Mexican counterparts, the better off we'll all be. And it's important to make these partnerships. ADQ has been very helpful for us. They train us. They certify us. They do our water quality monitoring training for all our citizens, scientists. We're all volunteers. We put our heart and our money and our time into this. And I know that we have good support from the county and from several of the folks on your city staff here and your council people. So thank you very much. And hopefully we can resolve this as soon as possible because Nogales Sonora is growing and growing on that side. It's high density populations and we could tell right away those wastewater treatment plants over there were undersized. And so we've been raising the alarm for a long time. Thank you for ADQ support, Joaquin. Thank you very much.

Again, if anybody would like to tour... Just let us know. We'll be happy to take you out there.

Thank you, Brian. Mr. Marufo, first of all, thank you all. I know you volunteer your time. Mr. Lomeli, you've been doing this for years and years. And Mr. Vanderbilt also, thank you so much for your time. I have just one, I have one more question. The owners or landowners of that surrounding area, have they been given any type of notice about the wash and the contamination and any of that?

Well, other than our social media from ADQ, every time we know of a cross-border wastewater flow, not only in the Osowatch, but also the Nogales Watch or the Santa Cruz River, ADQ hasn't engaged directly with the private owners of the area. I don't know if the county has engaged in any conversations around that.

Yeah, but yeah, but no letters have gone out to the landowners around that area of all this that's going on because I mean, there are obviously people on these properties around it. Yeah, okay, thank you.

Mr is, is there any way of measuring the plume of the actual contamination in that area? Do you have they have they done that or para or any of these environmental groups? Do you know. How big that plume is.

Well, we know historically that it has reached from where it crosses the border. It has run where when the wash runs all the way to where it confluences with the river, it has gotten to the river. So it's one point eight miles in the worst case scenario when flows are actually getting to the river during monsoon season, basically.

Anybody else? Joaquin, muchas gracias. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we move to update on administration building. Safety Officer, Mr. López.

Mr. Mayor and council members, good evening. I'm here to offer a brief update on the 717 North Bend Avenue Administration Services Building Remodeling Project. I'll make it as short as possible. Currently, the project is in the punch list closeout phase, and we are at the final acceptance pending completion and verification of remaining project requirements. The closing requirements and waiting for final inspections are the mechanical, the plumbing, electrical, fire detection and life safety systems, access control security systems, and the network cabling IT systems. We have the final cleaning is scheduled for this weekend. In preparation for the punch this walkthrough, which will take place on the 8th of this current month. I'll tell her and payment windows and countertops are completed. The special features of this area includes windows that are bulletproof. The wall is Kevlar and resistant material. Also, all data connections are in place. The office furniture delivery is scheduled for September 14th through the 16th, which installation is expected to occur during this delivery period. I want to point out that the items excluded from base project are due to budget limitations. One of them being the emergency backup generator and related work. We're currently waiting on quote from the Empire Power Systems Company. The overhaul of the parking lot asphalt did not take place. Also the exterior painting of the building itself was not included. Although parking lot repairs were limited to resealing and restriping under the project, And areas experiencing water puddling will be addressed separately by city work crews. We also completed the roof repairs and the repainting of the same. The elevator is operational at this time, but pending state certification. We do have an anticipated move in by the first or second week of October. Also moving may occur prior to the end of the calendar year depending on the overall project completion. So our moving data is subject to completion of punch list items and final inspections of any outstanding item. So that's where we currently stand with the administrative building at this time. I was asked to keep it brief. Any questions that might be forwarded, you know, we are, um, most of the items are in process and. I hope you, uh, bring this, uh, face to completion. Thank you very much.

Thank you questions from go ahead. Mr.

Since you mentioned the backup generator. That won't hold up the progress. No, we won't. Okay. No, we can always. let that for a later date leave that for later that is correct yes all right thank you yes

Mr phone this is there a timeline that will be given to us, submit it to us in timeline and also what are the plans who's moving who's not moving and so we can be aware of what's. Who's leaving the building?

As soon as we get through the punch list, we will give you one. Absolutely. Okay.

Then we're going to send letters out to the community to inform them.

So they know what services are provided.

So they know what services are going to be given there in terms of like paying the water, the utility bill here. I don't think that's going to happen here anymore. It's going to be over there. So you're on top of all of that.

absolutely and the council and and these the the main administrative functions but the council will remain here because here is the heart of our meetings and our ceremonial functions for the city okay yes well that's good to know yeah okay so you'll let us know by the next meeting or so absolutely because it seems like they're planning to move by the next month or so yes okay thank you the city attorney's office will have the whole second floor thank you

We need any other questions.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Next we move to financial monthly report. Uh. We'll do June and then we'll do July.

Good evening mayor and council members today and presenting the June. Financial statement, I mean, financial report and also July. We'll start with June. which was the end of the fiscal year. In June, the revenues and expenditures would be about 100% after the 12 months of the fiscal year. A good revenue would be having revenues above 100% and good expenditures would be having them under 100%. Most of the city's overall financial position is positive through June. General fund revenues are above the year-to-date budgeted target, while expenditures are below target. All expenditures and enterprise funds show revenues above expectations and expenditures below expectations. On table A, general fund revenues total 31,742,847, which is 110.9% of the budget. General fund expenditures total $34,111,060, which is 78.4% of the budget. General fund expenditures exceed revenues by $2,363,214. General fund revenues are $3,108,406 above the budgeted amount. Tax revenues are $2,469,619 above the year-to-date budget. State share revenues are at $384,023 above the budgeted amount. And general fund expenditures are $9,395,467 below the year-to-date budget. Next slide, please. For the local sales tax deposits, for the month of June, it was $1,793,539, which is $56,289,000 more than June of last year. The total sales-related tax collections are $18,424 below the same point last year. Next, please. For the general fund, department spending ended at 78.4% of the budget, which is below the 100% straight line benchmark. All departments are below the 100% threshold except city manager department, which is at 125.6%. And the city clerks department is 111.5%. Next please. For the HEERF, Her fund and overweight fees. So the revenues total $3,280,824, which is at 112.7%. The expenditures total $2,257,298, or 66.3%. Revenues exceed expenditures by $1,023,526. Her revenues are $370,560 above the budgeted amount. Expenditures are at 1,149,908 below the year-to-date budget. For overweight fees, revenues total 491,466, which is at 163.8% above the budget. Overweight fee expenditures total 353,573, which is at 37.4% of the budget. Revenues exceed expenditures by 147,893. Overweight revenues are 142,603 above the year-to-date budget, and expenditures are at 697,142 below the year-to-date. Next, please. For the sewer fund, revenues total $3,930,319, which is at 120.2% of the budget. Expenditures total $2,620,516, which is at 74.1%. Revenues exceed expenditures by $1,309,803. Pursuer revenues are at $660,119 above the year-to-date budget, and expenditures are at $1,169,482 below the year-to-date budget. Next, please. For the Water Fund, revenues total $3,530,215, which is 105% of the budget. Expenditures total $3,461,737, which is at 83.1% of the budget. Revenues exceed expenditures by $68,479. Revenues are at $169,615 above the year-to-date budget and expenditures are at $705,487 below the budget. Next, please. The sanitation fund revenues total $3,122,656, which is at 111.3%. Expenditures total $3,219,794, which is at 85.6%. Sanitation expenditures exceed revenues by $97,138. Sanitation revenues are 317,656 above the budget. Expenditures are 540,773 below the year to date budget. By the beginning of July, the end of June and July, we had 2,181 active business licenses, 212 new licenses and two licenses were canceled and suspended. Any questions in the June report?

This is the final of the year, right? This is the closing for June. Yes. The end of the fiscal. It's our closing in our fiscal year. Correct.

Yes, sir. Is there any pending activity, financial activity that's going to roll over to the month of July?

It doesn't roll over to the month of July, but there's still some pending vendors that were probably just sending invoices or anything that still has to get posted in June. So we're still trying to close the year. So to finalize the numbers.

So it's going to affect this numbers for June, right?

Yeah, this is just any anything changes will be for the last fiscal year. If there's anything pending, let's say expenditures or any invoices that are still having vendors not submitting it. but it will not affect, June does not mix with the Julys.

Thank you.

Sergio, in a nutshell, how did the city come up?

Overall, it's in a positive. The only thing is that, again, you had the sanitation. 97,000.

Yeah, 97,000 and the general fund was 2.3 million.

Mm-hm.

But then we had less expenditures of nine million.

What's that?

We had less expenditures of nine million. Overall?

Overall. With the budget?

Yes.

Any other questions for June? Go ahead. Okay, gonna jump into July. The July financial statement is for fiscal year 26-27. Revenues at this moment should be at least 8% above, above 8% or expenditures below 8% for the first month. Most of the city's overall financial position is positive throughout July. General fund revenues are above the year to date budget target while expenditures are below the target. Most special and enterprise funds also show revenues at or above expectation, expenditures below expectations, with the water fund being the primary area to watch. On table A, general fund revenues total 2,751,172, which is a 9.4%. Expenditures total 1,592,662, which is 3.7%. Revenues exceed expenditures by $1,158,510. General fund revenues are $415,245 above the year to date budgeted amount. General fund expenditures are $1,822,339 below the year to date budget. Next please. Local sales tax for deposits in July were $1,424,992, which is $274,544 more than last year. Total sales tax related tax collation are at $274,544 above the same point last year. Yes, first one, so at the same amount. Next, please. The overall general fund department spending is at 3.7% of the budget, below the 8% straight-line benchmark. All departments are below the 8% threshold except the MIS department, which is at 8.2%, and the library, which is at 8.9%.

Can you please clarify why?

What's that?

Can you please clarify why? Yes.

In July, that's when we make the first payments for the softwares for both the library and MIS department, which is... So that's why. So eventually it's going to start going down again. Not the new software yet, but part of it.

Thank you.

Next, please. For the HEERF and overweight fees, HEERF fund, the revenues total $288,136, which is 9.5% of the budget. Expenditures total $111,836, which is 1.2%. Revenues exceed expenditures by $176,300 year-to-date. Revenues are $46,377 above the year-to-date budget for the month. and expenditures are 651,242 below the year-to-date for the month. For overweight fee revenues, it totals 36,816, which is 10.5% of the budget. There are no expenditures yet for the overweight fee fund. Revenues are 8,816 above the year-to-date budget, while expenditures are 50,708 below. Next please. For the sewer fund, revenues total 297,363, which is at 9.1% of the budget. Expenditures total 253,200, which is 7.3% of the budget. Revenues exceed expenditures by 44,163 year-to-date. Revenues are 37,363 above the year-to-date budgeted amount for the month. Expenditures are 43,135 below the year-to-date for the month. Next please.

In the Water Fund,

Revenues total 335,413, or 7.3% of the budget. Expenditures total 653,999, which is 16.2%. Expenditures exceed revenues by 318,586. Revenues are 31,161 below the year-to-date budget. Expenditures are 331,646 above the year-to-date budget. The water fund is performing below the budget in both revenues and expenditures. Well, looking at the expenditures, primarily is because of the annual WIFA payment loan. So that's why the expenditure is so high for- Which is the 588.

But what's that? Which is the 588,000.

The WIFO loan is $523,214. But the revenues are under for the month.

That WIFO loan is one time?

That's one time for the year.

Yes.

But again, revenues are not at a par for the month. Next, please. Sanitation fund revenues total $253,000. which is 9.7% of the revenue. Expenditures total 113,360, which is 2.9%. Revenues exceed expenditures by 139,694. Revenues are 44,655 above the year-to-date budget for the month. And expenditures are 195,625 below the year-to-date for the month. For August business licenses, we have a total of 2,210, 31 new licenses and three licenses canceled or suspended. Any questions?

On this water fund, if you would divide the payment in 12, where will we stand?

Divide the what, excuse me?

The one payment, one time payment. If you would divide it by 12. And pull a calculator. Monthly will be 43,601 approximately. And that would then put us, okay, that would put us a lot less than the 653,000 that we're at.

Yeah, in the Spanish-wise, I wouldn't be concerned. We'll keep an eye out. It's more the revenue side. Okay. Because we didn't meet at least being at 8% for revenues. We're at 7.3. Okay.

Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Any other questions? Any other questions? Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we move to discussion items. A discussion. Discussion and possible action regarding in-kind support in an amount not to exceed $1,500 to be provided by the Police Department for the Novena Procesion hosted by Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Parish scheduled for December 3rd to December 10th at 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and December 11th from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Do I have a discussion?

Go ahead.

This is for legal.

Mr. Estes, the amount that I've seen in the packet is for $1,800. Sorry, so, um. Yeah, our policy is 1500. And other requesting 1800. So I'm asking for your legal advice when it comes to... I know you've given it to us already.

I'm not going to tell you how to vote, but I will tell you that... No, I'm not asking you how to vote. Again, as I've explained in the past, yes. As I explained in the past, in-kind contributions would be treated just like financial assistance. And the Arizona Gift and Loan Clause requires... Now, certain things to be met, you know, even if it's a nonprofit doesn't matter if it's a for profit nonprofit individual, it doesn't matter. They're all treated the same under the gift and loan clause. So that any contribution that is given the city would have to show and establish that it's getting. More or equal to the value that has been given in order to avoid a gift and loan clause issue. and the Council has established by way of order a policy limiting in-kind contributions to 1,500. So I would suggest that the Council follow the Council's own adopted order. Otherwise, the Council needs to look at and consider amending that.

Changing or amending.

And if that's the case, I have an in kind I'd like to submit to the council.

I see here that they're there according to here it's 1500.

Yes, I believe on the on the agenda, it shows 1500, but in the backup is what is showing what is requested. So when staff puts together the agenda, it limits what's on the agenda to what the council has adopted as its policy by way of the order.

I have a follow-up.

Go ahead.

Yeah, and Mr. Fontes, when people submit these in-kinds, are they made aware that the policy is 1,500?

I'm not sure what has been the practice up until now. But that would be a good practice. There's a slight distinction, and I think Mr. Estes alluded to that. You did so by order. If you had done so by ordinance, but he clarified you did so by order, an ordinance is the law imposed on the council by itself. An order gives you, I think, a little more flexibility, but you still have that limit. The test that he alluded to was a two-part state test that if you exceed that amount, but it's an ordinance then you would suspend the ordinance's effect for that particular action or amend it or a minute as he mentioned um but you did so by order i would still recommend and after talking to mr estes completely agree that you would comply with the arizona gift clause that says It's a public purpose and there's value for what was given consideration. So that's a two part test. So I would likely invite if you are going to exceed that, make that finding along with exceeding the amount.

My question again is, is when people submit these in kind, I don't know.

You don't know. Yeah, I don't know. So this point, this particular one's new to me, so I don't know what has happened, but I would recommend in the future we do that.

And I think up to now and in the past, we haven't had a designated individual. who has been responsible for accepting and processing in kind requests so i think it would probably be a good idea to establish somebody specific who is able to take those requests and then convey all of the information and details to those people who are requesting so that it's all consolidated and we can avoid those kind of issues in the future yeah

Because my purpose in requesting this and asking this is not that we want to prevent people from coming to the council and asking for assistance. We want to encourage community involvement. But if there's a policy in place, then that's why we make policy, right? For it to be followed, especially now with the gift clause comment that Mr. Estes made.

Thank you. The motion was for $1,500. We don't need to change that. That's what we're voting on, right? On the $1,500 not to exceed.

That is what's recommended to council because that's the policy that council established. Okay.

So we're voting on that motion.

Thank you.

Any other questions? chief do you know why or who got this uh in kind was uh well normally we've gone normally we put 1500 and i don't know why this one went up to 1800 was it uh they go to you chief or they go to um parks and rec parks and rec or no it's the police i think

Cardinals Milan, who's a facility manager. A few months ago, or months ago, Mr. Joel Kramer switched over the in-kind to facility manager Cardinals Milan, so he has all the information. He should be dispersing all the information to the local people to decide what they want, what they're asking for, and he should be telling them that it's a $1,500 limit. Limit, so it's Carlos Milan.

Go ahead.

I don't know if it applies to you, but why would facilities? Why would they change it to facilities? If normally it was parked and wrecked more than that. So so can you look into that? I mean, is that was the right move?

No, no one had been designated as of this date, so we will do that.

OK, because, you know, we need to have things run smoothly and not give, I guess, a department that's not really going to be on top of it the way it should or has the knowledge as like, say, Parks and Rec or unless you can come up with something, something like that.

That's a good suggestion.

That would provide a smoother, I guess, approach to the public where they can feel more comfortable with the explanation.

One point of contact for all things charitable or requests.

It might be something to work on. Absolutely.

Thank you. Thank you.

Well, that's it. Council, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Next we got a discussion possible actually regarding in-kind support of an amount not to exceed $1,500 to be provided by the police facilities and street department for the 14th annual Nogales Classic hosted by Circle of Peace scheduled for Saturday, October 17, 2026. Ms. Montiel? Yeah.

I need to, I will not vote on this because I'm on the board of the Circles of Peace. So I, there is Blanca, is Blanca here or who's going to speak on behalf of this? And I'll just stay.

Okay.

Go ahead.

Thank you. Mayor and members of the Council, thank you so much. Thank you for considering the City's continued partnership with the Nogales Bicycle Classic. We understand that tonight's recommendation reflects $1,500 in in-kind assistance, while our original request was up for $10,000. We respectfully ask the Council to consider the full request because we believe there's an opportunity to structure this partnership that the city receives clear and measurable value in return, as you have for almost 14 years. The Nogales Bicycle Classic is now in its 14th year and is much more than a fundraiser for Circles of Peace. It's an event hosted in Nogales that brings over 400 cyclists, families, volunteers, and visitors into our community and gives us an opportunity to showcase Nogales and Santa Cruz County to people from throughout Arizona and beyond. We will also be the host site for the state championship USA Cycling State Championships. We are prepared to formalize exactly what the city receives in exchange for its contribution. This can include, which actually it already includes, recognition of the City of Nogales as an official event partner, prominent city branding on all event materials, signage, our website, social media, and participant communications. We would be happy to work with the city staff and the city attorney to establish those deliverables and document their value so that this is not simply a contribution to our organization, but a true partnership in which the city receives identifiable services and promotional value in return. The Nogales Bicycle Classic gives us an opportunity to bring people into Nogales, showcase our community in a positive way, support recreation, sell out our hotels. and support recreation and healthy activity, and build the identity of Nogales as a destination for regional events. We are extremely grateful for the city's longstanding partnership, and we respectfully ask the council to consider supporting the event at the full level requested. Thank you for your consideration and for your continued investment to the Nogales Bicycle Classic.

Thank you. Go ahead, Mr.

Um, I think they brought out a good point right now in comparison to. What we were talking about, uh. Of showing or proving that. The expense of city would made on an event. Brings back equal or more. Value to the city. This event right here really brings a lot back to the city. I mean, through tourism, I guess, exposure throughout the state and and internationally. We get a lot of people that come and stay at our hotels, eat at our restaurants, gas up, even go downtown and spend some money on the local outlet stores that we have there or local stores. But, uh, you know, if you compare this type of event. With just, you know, for for police safety to our citizens, uh, you know, which is important, but I can see the 1500 apply to. To any event like that, but something like this, I think the city should throw some skin in. And because after all, we do throw 50,000 to the chamber, which they don't bring a lot of events on a yearly basis to the city of Nogales, where an event like this brings a lot of people and brings a lot of revenue to our local merchants. So I would say... Maybe we need to look into this and maybe have two different classifications here. One for events that are a smaller scale that just need maybe police escorts and or police involvement to secure the safety of the public and others that really like this event that brings money and that we can actually put it before whoever it is. The gold water Institute, or the or whatever and show. That we are getting more in confidence in compensation towards the city from this event than what we're putting in. That's what I have to say Mr.

I think I discussed this with. Blanca a few months ago about this type of funding. And I remember discussing with her that because this is done every year and it is a big event. So there's a dilemma. We have two, actually two big events. One is done by Cero Stress also. And they came in and they asked for a bunch of money and we turned around and we said 1500. So the problem would be is we enforced it with them. And then, you know, if we go back and approve this and what message would we be sending as a city? But I think that the idea that I pitched to her is because this is done and it is a big event. Instead of being circles of peace here, it would have been better if it would have been an official city on a galaxy event. And then you guys bring them as one of the sponsors or partners with us. That way we don't run into this issue. Um, but again, I think my biggest concern is that we have told other nonprofit organizations that we have in force of 1500 dollars. And now we're going to go back and say, well, well, for you, it's we enforce it, but not for circles. And that's my big concern right now. I don't have a problem. I think this is a big event for the for the community. But we, we told, I believe we told, um, settle stress. They came in with a certain amount of money. Yeah. So did we approve it, Councilwoman? How much did we approve it for?

Eight thousand.

More than the limit as well, I believe.

The bank account for me is... I mean, it's a no-brainer, but I think that instead of hitting these problems... It's safety, basically, what we're... Nine thousand for public safety. It's all safety. It's not giving it to the organization. Normally, our... Our in-kinds are restrooms and trash cans and stuff like that. Here, you know, the dilemma, not dilemma, the need is safety. And safety, you know, because it's a race. It requires, obviously, manpower by our PD.

Where does this race go to all the way into the county?

It goes all the way to where 83 and 82 intersect.

So does the county pitch in some of their money?

They do. They assist with signage, and I believe that we cover most of the costs for public safety, but everything else they do support, like cleaning the roads and all that.

So the county doesn't provide any police?

Not through in-kind support, no. For meetings, they do beforehand, but the day of the event, no.

Okay. So, you know, it's like I said, you know, I had a talk with the chief on this and, you know, We gave raises, that makes this go up again, which is good for our officers. That tweaked it up another couple of percent. So I think last year we gave 8,000 and now it's 9,000 because of blaming on their wages or whatever. This year, the other thing, it's a quarter, it's a half marathon, right? It's longer? The marathon?

The marathon is- The bike race.

Yes. It's longer than normal.

Yeah, we have 20, 40, 60, and 70 miles events.

So, you know, that creates more need because of the distance and all that.

And El Tour of Tucson is marketing us as the pre-El Tour this year.

Go ahead, Mr. Goh.

Mayor, you know, we live off the city sales tax. So, you know, where where the people congregate on events like this is no values, you know, and this is where they're going to spend the majority of the money. But not only that, it puts us on a map where people can really see. The charm and the safety that we have here in Nogales, which is something that we've been over the years, trying to raise up. That that image that people can feel safe right here alongside the border and hopefully continue to bring tourism. Shoppers that come to shop across the border and here locally. And and spend money here in the area, it's events like this. that really advertise for us or put us on the map and bring those people in that Nogales needs to have an influx of tourism. And so I think the way I see it, these events are really helping. So either we need two categories of being able to help our local residents, but this really helps the businesses. You know, more than anything else, we're kind of giving a shot in the arm for local businesses supporting these type of events that bring so much into our community. So we got to look at that. And again, if we're going to be concerned. About what whatever institute it is, the very gold water Institute, or the in in comparing. the difference of events or events that bring uh money into the community well this is one of them so i i think we should make an exception on events like this yes sir mr bonilla i just think that we should um mr fontes i think schedule uh

A study session, and I think I am in agreement with councilman Doyle that we should get together and predetermine. A different classification system just because. The way it looks, you know, we have some other petitions here for 1500 dollars and. or $6,000 or whatever, and we should be able and maybe phrase this a little bit different with circles and maybe become more of a city of Nogales thing. Because at the end of the day, we're the ones who are providing mostly everything. The county is not really pitching in their two cents worth like always. But that's fine. Just schedule a study session for that for another day.

If I could, it's not just an AG or a Goldwater issue. The Supreme Court held in Shires v. Carlett that anticipated economic activity such as tax revenue is merely indirect benefits and doesn't qualify businesses, you know, Whether it generates customers jobs, tourism or taxes doesn't count as what is considered a valuable consideration under the gift and loan clause. Unless there are separate deliveries of identifiable good services, property rights, direct benefits to the city. So. You would need to look at it very closely and define the specifics that would be able to overcome what the Supreme Court has established as those requirements for gift and loan clause issues. So, just so that you're aware. Tourism sales business increase. TPT, those are all considered by the, the spring court to be indirect and not. Something that can be considered.

Does it does it fall into that category? What these proceeds are also going to that they raised. How domestic violence to help. You know, women that are that are in trouble or citizens that are having issues. I mean, that's something that. You know, if you think about it, the community spends a lot more money through law enforcement and other agencies, local agencies, addressing those problems when they're actually trying to be a solution for the problem instead of actually having these type of problems. How does the Supreme Court feel about that?

I would have to do a lot more research. I'm not and I'm not trying to say yes. You know, I don't say yes or no. I give you the information because if a complaint is filed in the city gets sued, then the city's incurring a substantial amount of cost and liability to address those issues. So I can just tell you what the Supreme Court has held specifically when it comes to matters like increase in tourism. You know, additional shopping, additional room nights, those, those are considered indirect, not direct benefits.

No, that's right. I mentioned when it comes to law enforcement, dealing with these type of issues of domestic violence and. You know, places like that you guys support, uh, that's a direct cost to the city. You know, but again, you know, I'm just bringing that out.

And as Council Member Bonilla pointed out, you know, the easiest way to avoid any of those issues would be as if this was a co-sponsored city event because the city can sponsor itself.

Circle of peace. You know, you mentioned, you know, about us. you know, participate in all your, so what, how hard would it be to just consider being a partnership?

Yeah, I know that Blanca and the board of directors would probably have to discuss, but they would be open to that possibility. Even if the sponsorship itself was a deliverable, you know, how much would it cost? You know, we're looking for a cycling event in the city of Nogales.

Event sponsorship, not a, you know, not a business sponsorship. It's an event sponsorship.

Co-hosting.

being, you know, co-sponsors on the event. So, I think...

It would still be Circles of Peace. You guys would be the biggest partners. But, you know... the city has all the facilities you need. And it just be a city event. Like Councilwoman's event, Fiesta de Mayo, that is a city event, but the nonprofit that you're with, they are co-sponsor of that with the city of Nogales. So I think that would be the best approach to go.

Go ahead, Mr. Dahl.

And I guess we do have time to address that in the October meeting.

The event is October 17th.

Yeah, and we have our meeting the first days of October. I don't know if that's, or can we do it not today?

Blanca says yes.

Oh, I thought you had, okay. Okay, I thought you had to check with that. Your hands, Mayor.

Okay, so who did the motion? Basically can do the motion to... You know, revise the motion to make it a, uh, you know. Co sponsored, uh, event with circle of peace, uh, for the, there's no, there's no motion.

Well, I make the motion for the city to sponsor the, um, the event. The circles, the circles of peace event. Go go sponsor the event second.

All right. With that said, all in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion passes. Thank you.

Thank you. We appreciate it.

Ms. Montiel, you can come back. Items C, discussion and possible action regarding an in-kind support in an amount not to exceed $1,500 to be provided by the Facilities and Streets Department for the fashion show hosted by Border Fashion Week, scheduled on Saturday, October 3rd. Okay. I was presented this offer by Mr. Taleo and Suelma Cepeda. Okay. And it's a collaboration with Nogales Sonora at the border, you know, fashion show on Saturday, October 3rd. The one thing I recall on this, girls, was a similar thing, you know, you put on your letter that the funding that you wanted, 6,000. Were you aware of that? Come on up.

Hello, good evening. I was not aware of that amount. I am the coordinator here of Nogales, Arizona. Your name? Muñoz. I'm Astrid.

Last name?

Muñoz.

Muñoz, okay. So you put on your letter that it was, or they, Mr. Taleo put on his letter that he wanted $6,000, but that was for lights and sound system. And as you can hear, Through the other past motions, we don't do that.

No, of course not. We are looking for the permission and the support of the city to hold the event where we want to hold it, which is International Street. We did get the permissions from Nogales Sonora to have the show simultaneously, and we have the permissions to close off the street on that side of the border. Therefore, we're looking for the permissions, the authority to do that. So not... The $6,000 amount I was not aware of that when that letter was sent in, but as I did here in the past discussions at 1500 for the authorities to close down the street is what we are looking for. We do have a. Collaborator, which is let's party that will be holding the screen and we'll be doing that those things.

Okay. And as you probably heard also that we also normally do these and support non-profits.

Correct.

Are you a non-profit?

Yes, sir. Our event is a charity event.

Okay. All right. So.

The event in this site, I would also like to add, it will be free of cost.

Yes.

It will be charged on the site of Nogales, Sonora. but for Nogales, Arizona, it would be a free show welcoming the community because it would be the first time that we have this type of event here.

Correct. Mr. Doe, you had a question?

On this side of the border, there's going to be the quote, you want the street closed? Yes. Now, do we need any kind of permission or agreement with immigration? Because they're 60 feet, I think, from the border this way that they kind of...

I know they received the permission through the consulate and talked to the border patrol because it's outside the... The CBP area, it's more towards the Border Patrol area, and they do have permission from them.

So the area you looked into it?

Yes.

Oh, okay.

Yes. Montiel, on motion.

Good first of all, thank you. She was a former student of mine. Thank you for all the work you've been doing. I really appreciate it. You guys do some awesome work there. Um, yeah, I make a motion to, um. To, um. Yeah. In the amount of and not to exceed. I'm trying to read it correctly. 1500 to be provided for facilities and streets and I think that's that's it. Right? And security. Okay.

Thank you. Any more discussion all in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed motion passes. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Next we go to. Number 9 liquor license consideration, possible action on liquor license number 2026, 17 consideration and recommendation to approve an insurance of a special liquor license, a special event, liquor. License submitted by Jose Vasquez on behalf of the Cultura Arte Committee of Nogales, Arizona for the Fiestas Podcast 2026 event scheduled for September 12th, 2026 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Any discussion? Motion? Excuse me. All in favor?

Aye.

All opposed? Motion passes. Item 10 orders a consideration possible action for of orders number 2026, 0, 9, 0, 4, 4, an order of the mayor and. Council of the city of Nogales approving a lease agreement with Santa Cruz. Council of aging Inc. Mr mayor 2nd. You made a motion Mr.

Okay.

Who second? I second. Mr. Bonilla second. You had a comment? No, I was going to make a motion to approve. Okay. Any comment?

I just have one comment. Dr. Barona, I want to congratulate you and your staff for doing this great work with the elderly. Thank you. Thank you for your time, Dr. Barona.

And Dr. Montez. And Dr. Montez. Thank you, Brian. Okay, with that said, all in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Buenas noches. Buenas noches. B, consideration possible action of order number 2026-09-045, an order of the Mayor and Council of the City of Nogales, Arizona, authorizing the upgrade and extension of the Nogales Police Department Metro fiber optic network from Datacom Solutions LLC as a sole source vendor in a total amount not to exceed $732,858 for the Nogales Police Department. Any discussion? Go ahead, Ms. Montiel.

Yeah, thank you. Mr. Jimenez, we've been going back and forth. Tell me a little bit. What is this? I read some of the attachments, but I know we've discussed these in previous months. So can you give us some background? And then what is it that exactly that you're requesting?

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Mayor, if I may.

Go ahead.

Okay. What I'm going to do is kind of get a little head start. on another agenda item, which is agenda item C, how it correlates a little bit with this agenda item. What this fiber optic extension project is basically an enhancement and continuation of a project that has occurred a few years back. And what it's going to do, and I'm going to keep it basically in layman terms, because I know some of the information that was shared with you is pretty techie and It's you know, it goes over a lot of our heads, but what this does is we are proceeding with the process of getting the piece moving and the next agenda item is one of the first steps when it comes to purchasing a generator that's going to make that facility self sufficient case. There's an outage. which is required by any 911 center or PSAPs, which is the public safety answering point. So to get into the nuts and bolts of this, we are basically going to continue and enhance our communications as a backup. We do have that currently, but this is going to go further north into the city, which is going to connect with our public works. the ADA facility that's on Holcomb Drive and continue north where our fire station number two is going to have this basically a backup. I know it's mentioned there as a redundant project. So that's basically what he is. If our communications for any reasons go down, this will allow this to go into effect and continue having operations and basically communications when that event happens. So in a whole nutshell, it's basically a backup project that will ensure that we don't lose any connectivity when it comes to communications. I'm not saying it's 100% foolproof because we know technology is never is, but just a few weeks back, there was an event a couple of Thursdays ago where there was a heavy rainstorm in the Santa Cruz area and some agencies, public safety agencies lost communication because of this. Now, luckily we weren't affected here in Nogales, but if we wouldn't have this in effect, If we were to lose communications initially, this will be the backup that kicks on automatically and continues to function. When our communications point.

Cover the whole city. Does this cover the whole city, like Western Avenue, also the new communication center?

Well, that's kind of what's going to be the central point. Okay. So if we lose communication, or I should say the initial communications, this is what will go into effect and allow us to continue communications for not only police, but also fire. Thank you. The 700.

This amount here is, where is it coming from?

It's coming from the DEMA grant that was awarded to us a few years back to enhance our communication. We already approved that, right? Yes, it was awarded to us a few years back from the grant, the ten point seven million. This is just now being used to enhance this portion of that project. So it's not coming out of city general funds. And this is state funds that the state has already approved for us to continue with this enhancement and continuation. of this portion of the project, which is like I said, it's going to benefit them too, because the communication is going to continue north all the way up to where the Department of Public Safety's office is located just a little bit north of Fire Station two. So and that's in essence, it's just a backup plan. So if our primary communications operations go down, this kicks in automatically, kind of like a generator, which I mentioned earlier, if we lose power at the PSOC, The generator kicks on and allows the communications to continue the operations to continue. And if we lose communications at the primary, this one is the backup system that goes into effect and allows us to continue to communicate.

We're not in item C yet, but what's the difference between the B that you've just talked about and item C, the diesel standby generator system?

So if you notice just between this building and the base for the fire department, there's that big metal box oh okay that facilitates the city building which is primarily for police and our i.t offices okay so when we do move into the peace hawk which is the old armory that will have a standalone generator so we do this lose electricity through unisource that kicks in and allows our peace out to continue to have power which is a mandate because it's a 911 center

OK, just want to distinguish both. I know we're not in that item yet, but I wanted to kind of talk a little bit about what was the difference or, you know, between item B and item C. So, OK. One is the optic, the other one's the generator, right?

I'm sorry? One is the optic, the other one's the generator.

Yes, one is basically enhancing communications and the other one is making sure we keep power going if we were to lose it at the PSOC.

OK.

Understood. Okay. Thank you. So, on item. And then be all in favor. All right. All the posts motion passes going to item C consideration possible action of order number 2026. 0, 9, 0, 4, 6, an order of the mayor and council of the city of Arizona, authorizing the procurement. of a 350k1 diesel standby generator system and associated equipment for the Nogales Police Department from Gentec under Arizona's starter contract numbers CTR 078270. Second. Any discussion? Second. Any discussion?

Okay, all in favor. All right. All opposed.

Motion passes.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir. The consideration and possible action of order number 2026, that's 09, that's 047, an order of the mayor and council of the city of Arizona, approving an intergovernmental agreement between the Santa Cruz County school superintendent and the Santa Cruz public library for and for the ignite. Early literacy project.

Thank you.

Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? I move to executive session. Second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Move to executive session.

you you Thank you. you you So, Thank you. do do you Bye. you you So, Bye. you you do do Thank you. you Thank you. you Thank you. you you

Session move to number 12 discussion item, a discussion and possible action, Mayor and Council ratification of the appointment of Casey B. Welch as finance director.

Motion make a motion to approve 2nd.

Oh, Mayor make a motion to approve Mr Welch. Hey, Casey, you said Miss Casey 1 seconds in the discussion all in favor.

All right. Post motion passes. Uh, number 13 minutes and council report on current events. Uh, Mr.

I went to the leagues and cities and towns conference, and I was, um. I was at a town hall meeting with Senator Ruben Gallegos also. Well.

Mayor again, the. The city illegal cities and towns conference was, I think almost all of us were there. And it was a great event, very successful, especially the showcase for gala stuff. It seems like people really love the mangoes and tomatoes the city provides for them over there. And a lot of them like those little drinks, local drinks. And then there's a big faction that loves the empanadas that the people at the... Santa Cruz there by Castellana make. I think everything kind of flew out. I think it seemed like this year most people were really into going out there and getting their bags filled with all the goodies that all the different cities provided. But Nogales was a hot spot. And luckily everybody ran out about the same time because it seemed like it went by real quick. I know that that yourself, Mayor, and all the rest of the people there, staff, and we're very busy. So I kind of congratulate you guys for being able to hold out for those few hours that you were just giving out, giving out, giving out without nonstop. So again, I think everybody enjoyed it very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Ms. Menendez? Yes, we're all ready for the event on the 12th. Remember, you're all invited. It's going to be at Morley Avenue from 5 to 10. Don't forget.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor. Yes, I also attended the the conference up in phoenix this is my last year so i was glad to go there and i know i've been there the whole eight years that i've been here i've been i've been uh going to that conference and uh i had a really good uh time and uh learned a lot in the eight years that we've been going up there and you know just uh appreciation for for getting that uh certificate for mr doyle the mayor and myself that was a little bit uh motivating. I also went to a conference in Tucson. It was a water summit. It was very interesting, you know, even though the Nogales, we're not hurting so much for water, like the cities up north, but still, you know, we need to take care of the resources and don't misuse that, you know, because it could go away and then it's going to be hard to get. So I think that Arizona is only getting like 30%. Of of the portion of the Colorado River, so it's not that much, but it was interesting.

That's all I have. I just forgot to mention 1 of the important things aside from the water. That coffee they had there was awesome. And they have a little restaurant there in Tucson that I think everybody needs to know about. It's right there past Grant and I guess First, is it? First Street? Is that there to the right? They have a little Mexican restaurant that's very reasonable. It's Oracle and First. Is it Oracle? Mm-hmm. Okay, I understood him. Go past Grant and on First Street. But anyway, I'll get the name of it. Did you have coffee there? Did you have coffee? The coffee with cinnamon and the other sweet stuff, the brown sugar or whatever it is.

But anyway, it was awesome.

Yes, it tasted like that coffee way down deep in Mexico. Don't go too far.

The new restaurant here on Tiger, on Target Range in Industrial Park. They have that coffee.

Well, no, no, no. It doesn't compare with that one. I've had both of them. You've got to try that one. All right. Try it.

Okay. Thank you, everybody. And we had a great show up in Phoenix at the League of Cities and Towns. It was a great event. You know... We all participated. I had participated in the housing panel. Then I also met with Gallegos and Kelly up there. Matter of fact, that's where I told Gallegos that I wasn't gonna be able to be here on Friday. I went to San Antonio with the NatBank and that, That, you know, I was catered because even Mr. John Beckman, the CEO, had me in his main table during our lunch. And it was the mayor of... San Antonio, the mayor of La Feria, and the mayor of Ciudad Juarez, Presidente Municipal de Ciudad Juarez, and his two right-hand people, Mr. Alejandro Villa and Alejandro, what's his surname? Sorry, lost this. But, you know, John Beckman was the main host there of our table, and it was great participating with him. I think there's good possibilities of NatBank even strongly supporting Nogales. They're hungry for projects. They're hungry for projects. That's something I already talked to our... Our city manager, because, you know, they want projects to be ready and and basically they're in there into for support and there's other types of fundings that that are available and we'll be looking into those because there's some some funding that a lot of people don't don't ask for. The other thing is, you know. The Cattle Crossing started last Monday up in Douglas. We took advantage of Dr. Beerly, the director of USDA here in Arizona, and Joanne Bell and her father, Mr. Smith. were up in Douglas and they planned a trip with the undersecretary, which is the right hand person to Director Rawlings of USDA. And they brought in the head veterinarian the head of APHIS, and there were five different people. And they came over here at seven in the morning on Tuesday. We went down to the Corrales in Nogales, Sonora, talked to the mayor, him, for support and all that. We got together with the association of Hermosillo and Nogales, Sonora. running around all the installations, they were surprised that, you know, a lot of times, like we've seen and lived, Washington does not know what we have here. And in the communications, in the talks, it was noted that back in February, March, we had crossed 43,000 heads of cattle here already with a new protocol. The only thing that we hadn't done that they have right now doing in Douglas is there's a dog shoot, they call it, where it's almost like 15 feet where a dog sniffes the cattle to see if it's got any worm. So that would be the one thing that we would need. And they're putting a new ear tag, electronic ear tag, and that's the other thing that we would need to do. But they were very impressed. And maybe starting Nogales soon. So hopefully, you know, Ms. Rollins the next day, I don't think it was the next day, on Wednesday or Thursday, came out and said that her people were here in Nogales. And that they were very satisfied and they see Nogales as a future operation. So hopefully we get good news from that. Douglas shut down on Friday because of heavy cattle. So they're putting new shoots for the cattle. Hopefully they say by Monday they'll be back in Nogales. in processing cattle again for import into the U.S.

Yes, sir.

The city of Douglas and Agua Prieta. That's the first opening for cattle importation that was opened just last Monday, two Mondays ago.

Yes.

Well, the sniffing dog is by the proposed—actually, it's both Mexico, Zagarpa—not Zagarpa. What's its name? But the Mexican veterinarians and the U.S. veterinarians both have sniffing dogs on both sides.

Yeah. Yes, sir.

Will that help bring our meat prices down in the future? We're way behind that. We're way behind that. We don't know. I think the The great thing that we have in Nogales is you could go Nogales, Sonora, buy at the same price, but for a kilo, not a pound. That's the luxury we have in Nogales. Nope, no tariff. But that was a very good visit that we had from the USDA. And I want to thank Mr. from Arizona USDA for bringing them down and also bell and her father mr smith that was a last minute thing and we made it happen you know uh got very good support from you know border patrol knowing that we were there from cbp knowing that we're crossing and everything from the mexican uh Authorities and everything knowing that we're crossing so it was a good last-minute event and and I think everybody know that I should should Have a big plus on it. Hopefully we get cattle crossing through Nogaleson besides that Basically yesterday we had some artists and there's a very nice artist, what do they call it? At the Consulado, you could go see the art like this. ¿Cómo le dicen? Mosaico. Mosaico. Mosaic. And they had the event there. It was very nice. You know, a young lady from Nogales, Maritza, and the photographer, Daniel, Beautiful, beautiful art. I was there yesterday, and they're going to have it for the whole month. And they want to do some stuff, some mosaics about Nogales. They heard about that we're good in baseball. They heard about the produce. They heard about cattle. And they hear about our good water systems down here. So they want to do some mosaics featuring Nogales.

That's all I got.

Any future agenda items?

Mr. Bonilla? For discussion, I want to start the process for making the city of Nogales autism certified.

Do your homework. Let us know. Mr. Doe?

I don't have anything at the moment.

Thank you, Mayor. Hernandez? Montiel? Weiss? Okay. Well, before we know it, we'll have the Christmas parade here. I want to let everybody know, remember Shrine? Shriners? They were in my office. They want to get involved again into our parade. And I remember they had those cards and all that. That was my discussion with Mr. Lopez. They only asked to try to be in front of the of the parade, not in the back, but the Shriners are looking into coming back into the community, coming big and supporting with, you know, the needs of people that can, you know, have those major issues of health and stuff like that. And we're going to continue to talk with them. Matter of fact, also talk with Mariposa clinic and and others on on having them more involved. If we have events. Remember, they would love to be present at our events or put booth and stuff like that. They asked for the city support to to put a boost at our events. Maybe you could start at your. I just want to remind everybody that the services for Councilman Cesar Parada are Saturday at 9 o'clock. 10 o'clock? I saw 9. Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart, huh?

Sacred Heart, huh? This Saturday. This Saturday, yes.

It will be at 9.30 Rosary and 10 o'clock Mass at Sacred Heart Church.

Yes, and on behalf of the city and the whole council, I think our thoughts and prayers to the Parada family and our councilwoman Parada. We all, I go back, he was my little league coach. He was a good mentor in baseball and a good friend from the Nogalito Barrio. So, you know, my hearts and prayers to the family. Anything else that I'm going to. Again, this is all in favor.