Town Council - Regular Meeting

Six o'clock, I hereby call to order the meeting of the Salvadoran Council and also remind everybody that tonight's meeting will be broadcast live. Tonight's invocation will be given by Jeanette Perlis, our finance manager, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by the dapper, Reed Butler, a fifth grade student at Wrightson Ridge Elementary School. Jeanette.

Let us pause and reflect as we begin tonight's meeting. We gather here today grateful for the community we represent and the freedom we enjoy. We ask for a spirit of cooperation, patience, and mutual respect among everyone in this room. Grant this council the wisdom to see the long-term impacts of their choices, the integrity to act justly, and the compassion to consider the needs of every resident. May their discussions be productive, their decisions be fair, and their shared focus remain on the flourishing of our town. Thank you to the public servants and community members here tonight who dedicate their time to this civic mission, amen.

Amen, thank you. Reed, step right up. You were taught about the button.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. And our town attorney is a bow tie wearer, so he better be watching over his shoulder for our next town attorney.

Madam Clerk, may I have a roll?

Here.

Council Member Lisk? Absent. Council Member Lytle?

Here.

Council Member Morales? Here. Council Member Priolo? Here. Vice Mayor Egbert? Here. Mayor Murphy?

Here.

Quorum present.

Thank you. Next, I have two proclamations. First, I will be presenting a proclamation declaring the month of September 2026 as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month to Audra Schrock, an ovarian cancer survivor, and Rachel Putman, an ovarian cancer survivor and National Ovarian Cancer Coalition board member who is joining us on Teams. Audra, are you in attendance?

Audra just called in sick, so I got a statement.

OK.

I'll do the proclamation and then.

I just learned that Audra called in sick. So after I do the proclamation, Devon is going to make a statement on her behalf. uh... whereas ovarian cancer is a serious health concern affecting women every day and this cancer is often difficult to detect making public awareness campaigns vital and whereas turn the town's teal a national ovarian cancer awareness program funded by gail mcneil is dedicated to reducing the public educating the public about the often subtle and ignored symptoms of ovarian cancer emphasizing the vital message Earlier the diagnosis, the better the prognosis. And it is fitting and proper to accord official recognition to this magnificent document and its memorable anniversary, and to the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate the occasion. And whereas September is recognized nationally as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, A timely, a time to amplify efforts to inform and empower individuals with knowledge about this disease and save lives through early detection. And whereas the town of Salarita is committed to promoting the health and well-being of its residents and recognizes the importance of early detection and awareness and improving outcomes of those affected by ovarian cancer. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Tom Murphy, the mayor of the town of Salarita, on behalf of the town council, do hereby proclaim September 2026 as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, in testimony whereof I have hereunto sent my hand and cause to be affixed the seal of the town of Salarita on this eighth day of September 2026.

So, Devin, and maybe, can we get a picture with, and you can send it over to him.

Good evening, Mayor Murphy to my left and council. So Audra Chirock was hoping to be here tonight, but unfortunately she is feeling unwell and cannot attend. She asked me to share her sincere gratitude for this ovarian cancer awareness month proclamation. raising awareness is critical which is why audra has been hanging ribbons around the lake and town hall as part of the turn the town teal campaign these ribbons are visibly marked with important information to help educate the community audra is happy to report that the ribbons are currently up and she wants to thank everyone for their support and for everything being done to champion this cause thank you thank you devon and rachel would you like to say anything

You're on mute on your mic, or I'm not sure if we muted her. Can you hear me, Rachel? Oh, maybe not. OK. We'll move on. Thank you.

Next, Mayor. I'm sorry. She did indicate that she'd like to make a comment.

OK. Rachel, can you hear us?

Was dead. Apparently she can't hear us.

Turn the video on. Rachel, can you hear us? No.

Yes, can you hear me now?

Yes. Would you like to say a few words?

Yes, thank you so much.

Hello, yeah, go ahead. We can hear you.

oh okay try again can you yeah i can hear you can you hear me yes i can hear you yes we can hear we can hear you as well okay great thank you my name is rachel sackett putman and i'm here as a stage three oh there There's a big delay. Let me.

Yeah, just let her know there's no delay.

I can listen to the YouTube.

I can hear you. OK, I'll just speak. My name.

Making public awareness campaigns, Biden.

Go ahead. Stage three ovarian cancer survivor, thriver, and advocate.

If you can still hear us, you can continue.

All right, I will start over. My apologies there. My name is Rachel Sackett Putman, and I'm here as the Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer Survivor, Thriver, and Advocate, and as a proud Arizona resident of the past 20 years. Thank you, Mayor Murphy and the council members of the town of Suarita for recognizing September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Arizona is where I built my adult life, my marriage, my career, and my survivorship. So receiving this proclamation from this town is so deeply meaningful to me. Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers affecting women, yet it remains one of the most underfunded and least understood. Over 21,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed this year and more than 12,000 will lose their lives, which is about a 60% mortality rate. Most women are diagnosed in advanced stages because symptoms are vague and there's still no reliable early detection test. For many of us, that lack of awareness is the difference between catching cancer early and fighting for our lives. I was diagnosed at 38 with a rare subtype called low-grade serous ovarian cancer A chronic disease with no standard of care and an 85% recurrence rate. Like many women, I lost my ability to have biological children. James, my husband and I hadn't yet fulfilled. And this year, I've suffered some very deep losses to this disease. Losses that weigh heavily and remind me why awareness is so urgently needed. Every teal light, every social media message, and every proclamation, including yours, helps someone recognize symptoms earlier and brings a much-needed awareness to this insidious disease. It truly saves lives and honors those women lost far too soon. Thank you for standing with survivors, honoring the women we've lost, and helping to protect families across the town of Suarese and the great state of Arizona. Your leadership makes a real and lasting difference. Together, we can shine a light on this gravely overlooked disease and give hope to the women and families who need it most.

Thank you, Rachel.

Thank you. AC&T?

Well, you're just going to sit there and take notes, I guess, right? Next, we're proclaiming Talasarita Financing and Accounting Week. And thank you for doing the invocation as well this morning. Whereas the finance department of the town of Sahuarita plays a vital role in supporting the efficient and effective operation of the town and the services provided to our community. And whereas the dedicated professionals of the finance department help safeguard the town's financial health through responsible fiscal management, budgeting, accounting, purchasing, financial reporting, and other essential services. and whereas their expertise professionalism and attention to detail provide essential support for informed decision making and the responsible stewardship of public resources and whereas their commitment to accuracy transparency accountability and excellent service contributes to maintaining the public trust and supporting the town's overall operations Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Tom Murphy, the mayor of the town of Salarita, on behalf of the town council, do hereby proclaim September 14th through September 18th, 2026, is the town of Salarita Finance and Accounting Week, and testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in a cause to be affixed the seal of the town of Salarita on this eighth day of September, 2026. Thank you very much for everything that you do. Okay, thanks everybody. Next we come to item number six, which is the Town Council and Town Manager brief summary of current events. Council Member Priolo.

Council Member Lytle and I on August 31st, met with Chris Ward, who is the general manager of the Saharita Water Company, and Jeremy Sharp. We had a very productive meeting and successful. I had a lot of questions. They were answered, and I am grateful to have had that interaction with them.

Thank you. Council Member Gillespie. Vice Mayor.

Nothing today.

Council Member Lytle. I have to agree with Council Member Priolo. We had a very successful meeting with the members of Sarita Water. Thank you.

Council Member Morales.

The next Coffee with Council is this Friday, September 11th. From 11 to 12 at the Madera Clubhouse in Quail Creek, and it's open to the public. Some of the residents were questioning wayward? Wired?

Wired.

Wired fiber that's coming into town, so Kim actually made arrangements for them to come to the meeting also if you guys have any questions. Thank you.

Thanks. I attended a couple of events. We had our first ribbon cutting of RTA Next. Being that I'm the current chair, I got to say a few words. And we actually used our road rehabilitation sector, which was not in the first RTA. over on Irvington Road, which looked like a moonscape over there. So it was a good first project to roll out RTA next, which we're going to now refer to as just RTA, because there is no next. It's just the RTA as we move forward over the next 20 years. With Mr. Ortega, the Executive Director of PAG RTA, we also presented to the Chamber of Southern Arizona about the workings of RTA Next. This region, during the first RTA, was never able to really successfully roll out any more than between $50 and $70 million of infrastructure. But because of the voters passing RTA Next, which is a $2.67 billion project, we have to deliver $200 million a year in infrastructure. So we put a lot of various policies in place to try to help make that happen. Because if we get behind, we're going to stay behind. Also, a few of us were able to attend the groundbreaking of the Pima Federal Credit Union in the morning, and then the ribbon cutting of wired fiber that Debbie just spoke about in the afternoon. And also a few of us were able to attend the JTED Transition Summit, which is the Joint Technical Education District. And that's what provides what a lot of us older folks would remember as vo-tech, vocational education. So really strong presence within our school district here. And also, Debbie and I attended the Ribbon Cutting of the Hive, a new thrift store just on the border of Green Valley. We're claiming it in Salarita. And it's with a group called Adventures with Friends. It's adults with disabilities. So they're going to actually be running the thrift store and raising money and learning real-world skills. So if you're looking for another organization to donate to, we have the White Elephant, we have Daisies, which supports our domestic violence shelter. Now we have the Hive Thrift Shop. And I know you have coffee with the council, but I'll be attending a couple of events, obviously. thinking about 9-11 25 years in. I hope you all can reflect on that tragic day 25 years ago. Our next meeting is September 21st, Monday. And with that, Shane, any town manager updates?

Yes, Mayor, thank you. And members of the council, good evening. Appreciate this opportunity to provide a quick update from your staff. Human Resources is pleased to host another San Miguel High School intern that started for this fiscal year. Estefani Moran is a senior at the high school, San Miguel High School, and will be working with the town on Mondays and occasionally some Fridays. And so we're pleased to continue to host that program. ON THE PARKS AND REC SIDE OF THINGS, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. AT THE RECENT ARIZONA PARKS AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, 76TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXPO IN PHOENIX, THE SALVADITA PARK AND RECREATION WAS A RECIPIENT OF AN OUTSTANDING SPECIAL EVENT FOR POPULATIONS 25,000 TO 100,000 FOR THE SALVADITA STARS AND STRIPES EVENT IN 2025. So we're excited to receive this recognition, this award, and kudos to our Parks and Rec staff as well as supporting departments. The PD, obviously finance is there to support, but our partner, our community partner in the Santa Rita Fire District also. VERY HELPFUL. ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SIDE OF THINGS, THE BUILDING SAFETY DEPARTMENT ORGANIZED A VISIT FOR SOME OF US STAFF TO GET ON SITE TO THE UNDER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT OF ROADHOUSE. That was super exciting to see some of the renovations and how they've had to be very creative in maximizing the space of that existing building. We all know that it's very, very expensive to build new. And so there were some certain limitations on this site. And I think Roadhouse has done an excellent job. I was very impressed going through there and how they've put this full-size kitchen in place. and preparing all the six theater sites for these big chairs. And I'm just super excited about it. They're hoping that they're expecting to be open before the end of this calendar year and really hopeful to be in time to grab the holiday movie season. So I'm excited about that. I ALSO WANT TO UPDATE YOU GUYS AS A COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC LISTENING PUBLIC. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY FORMAL APPLICATIONS FOR A DATA CENTER PROJECT. ALSO WANT TO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE HAVE NOT WE HAVE ALSO NOT RECEIVED ANY REQUEST TO ENTER INTO NON DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS. I assure the council that if we were ever presented with that kind of request, we would let the council know even outside of these formal meetings. So just know that you've got that commitment on my part. In regards to the industrial zone code amendment, we're still moving forward with that We're preparing for one or more community meetings later this fall The amendment will ensure that the town has general regulations and definitions in place Before we have to wrangle with the specifics of any particular industrial project in specifically a data center as part of the process of crafting a code that works for saurita our consultants are looking at real world examples of other data center zoning codes and their outcomes by relying on the lessons learned from other jurisdictions we hope to implement a code that minimizes unexpected or unwanted outcomes in these types of projects and again i just want to remind the council and the listening public that These code amendments would apply to areas outside of already approved specific plans that have gone through the process with the council up to this point. We have a, in economic development, we have a new public information officer, a PIO, whose name is Ramon Armenta. Where's Ramon? Is he here? Ramon, come on up and just do a quick intro to you and to the council, please.

and tell everybody where we stole you from.

I will. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Ramon Armenta, and I'm the new public information officer for the town of Sarita. I was lovingly stolen from the town of Marana, where I spent the last decade and a half working with the communications team there to build trust and transparency with the community. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here, be a part of the Sarita team. I'm excited to contribute to my own community. My wife and my children live here, and I look forward to working with you all. Thank you.

Thanks, Ramon. Welcome.

And mayor and council finally because I know that we have certain constraints during call to the public I just wanted to be proactive in addressing it recently there was a Facebook post that talked about a a rally of sorts to be on the corner of La Cañada and Sabarita Road. And in that announcement, it talked about parking that would be available at the office complex on the west side of La Cañada. THAT HAPPENED, THE ONLY BUILDING I KNOW OF IN THAT AREA IS THE SAM TECH BUILDING. I DID POST IN THAT FACEBOOK. I USUALLY DON'T POST FACEBOOK. YOU GUYS ALL KNOW THAT ABOUT ME. BUT I FELT THAT THIS WAS IMPORTANT JUST AS PUBLIC FYI. THAT PARKING LOT WAS DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATING NEEDS OF THE TENANTS IN THAT BUILDING. AND SO WHILE I DIDN'T IN MY RESPONSE TO THAT POST INDICATE THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE PARKING, I JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, PLEASE HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN FOR PARKING BECAUSE THERE MAY OR MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE SPACE TO PARK IN THAT PARKING LOT. IF IT DOES COME TO A QUESTION AS TO WHO HAS A RIGHT THERE, THE TENANTS HAVE, THEY LEASE THAT FACILITY FROM THE TOWN. THEY HAVE THE FIRST DIBS ON PARKING IN THAT AREA. Just to understand, I just wanted the council to know and the listening public to know that there may or may not be available parking at that building. So thank you, I don't have anything else, Mayor.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Item seven is call to the public. The call to the public is now open. Individuals may speak to up to three minutes. Spokesperson representing ten or more individuals present may speak up to ten minutes. Preferences will be given to salaried or residents. To allow the council to proceed with town business, state law permits the mayor, me, to establish reasonable time limits for public comment and impose reasonable restrictions when circumstances warrant, including limiting repetitive comments or disrupted behavior. Obviously, we can't respond unless it's criticism. So after attending the League of Cities and Towns conference, and talking with other mayors there was all kinds of different things that uh... towns do some of cancel call to the public some put all of it at the end uh... i reflected in spoke with staff uh... to allow the uh... tech town business onto be conducted but also wanting to hear from everybody what i might do is limit uh... the first forty five minutes for a call to the public and take residents, obviously we're accountable to our town residents and voters, and then I'll recess it, we'll conduct our town business, we're gonna all stay here to the end, and then if there's any other call to the public, I'll take those at the end of the meeting. So I will begin with Nina Luxenberg. And I know there's always a temptation to clap, but if you're clapping, that does eat up part of the 45 minutes. So it's all up to everybody here.

Mayor and council, just mic etiquette reminder. Please stand off of the mic a little bit because those listening online, it gets really muffled if you get really close to that mic and talk really loud. Yeah, thank you for that.

I forgot about that. Good evening, Nina.

Ready. Mayor and council, I'm Nina Luxenberg from Sawarita. Tucson residents opposed a data center, yet contracts were signed in secrecy. Marana residents opposed a data center, and about 2,800 signed referendum petitions to put rezoning on the ballot for voters to decide. Required information was not included for reasons still unknown, and request for retraction was denied. And Marana Council voted to rezone two adjacent parcels of agricultural land. The vote was unanimous and residents are not permitted to refile. I and many others are opposed to a data center here. What roadblocks will we face? The governor's moratorium on tax exemptions doesn't go far enough. It leaves open a loophole for data centers to just pay their required taxes. They can afford it. We need a moratorium for building data centers. And who are the financial backers? Is it 100% private? Will it be part private, part government? I have to wonder in a town that has at least half a dozen aerospace and defense companies and an Air Force base, are we putting the security of our residents in jeopardy? I do know that we're putting the health and well-being of our residents in jeopardy, and here are a bunch of facts in case you didn't know. UN report published this June said if the industry's power consumption doubles by 2030 as expected, the world would have to plant 6.7 billion trees over the next decade to offset the noxious emissions. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease are ranked in the top five of CDC's 2023 and 2024 list of leading causes of death in the US. Air polluted with microparticles, the kind emitted by data centers and mines is a contributor. Cancer is now the leading cause of death in young adults ages 17 to 39. By 2030, AI's demand for energy will double and take 3% of the world's electricity production. Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are partnering with private companies for nuclear power. Remember the disaster at Three Mile Island? which was now purchased by Amazon with plans to reopen next year. Will we get a nuclear plant? Heat absorbed and trapped by concrete, asphalt and buildings, the heat island effect raises land surface temperatures in a six mile radius by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit on average and as much as 16 degrees. Women need to know that exposure to higher temperatures during pregnancy can affect fetal brain development. Hot days could affect the functioning of our local hospital. This summer's heat wave in Great Britain caused two hospitals to shut off their MRI scanners, canceling hundreds of exams to give equipment time to cool. By 2030, data center operations will require 9.3 trillion liters of water a year and will consume more water for cooling than the human population drinks in a year. As AI becomes more efficient, it will become cheaper, encouraging more people to use it, raising the industry's demand for water and power and its output of pollution. Thank you.

Thank you. Chuck Wonder is next. And after Chuck, Suzette Rocher.

Mr. Mayor, members of the council, good evening, staff. Thank you for mentioning 9-11. That's actually why I am here this evening, to extend a very special invitation to the council, to staff, and to everybody here. 25 years ago, we did have a horrific event occur, and I was busy with my staff. And looking at my staff, I have 18 employees who weren't even born yet.

Right.

And so I think it's really, really important that we continue to carry the message about we're never to forget. And these kind of events, in my generation, this was our Pearl Harbor. And those that live at Pearl Harbor that had that, we have 9-11. So I just want to invite you, the Santa Rita Fire District's holding our own service. That'll be 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. I have some flyers for those of you who'd like to attend. We will be prompt and on time because, Mr. Mayor, I know you're at another event as well that we'll be at. But I'd really encourage you, by coming out and this folks representing, it sends a message to our young people that we can't forget this. Then I have another very special announcement. We are working closely with the Cerrito School District and Cerrito Police Department to host a very special evening on Friday night, 9-11, at the football game. At the Cerrito High School football game, we will be hosting a first responders event, and we have a very special evening lined up where we will do a very special halftime ceremony. We will have static displays before the game. We will present the colors. But we have a little halftime surprise for everybody, and I think you'll really appreciate it. So I would encourage everybody to come out. If you're a first responder or a veteran, you get in free. So we'd encourage you all to come to that. So I just want to let you know, I left all these for you guys. And for anybody in the public, we have some in the back. Thanks, Chief.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Suzette. And then Lisa Van Gelden.

I'm going to say thank you, and I don't want to use my time. Thank you. I just wanted to bring this subject again to your attention. I've printed out, and you all have received them, this picture, which is the data center at night. It is a half a mile from this data center. I just wanted to give it to you as reference, not to encourage you to make this any bigger than it needs to be for us in our community. Also, I gave the August 26, 2026 health report from the Pima County Health Department. In a junction, it's quite large. So I gave one copy. There's 24 pages. And I gave it for everybody to review. And please do, because it was done in conjunction with John Hopkins University. These are valid reasons why we do not want a data center in our small community and the impact. I am still quite amazed and confused even though the legality I understand as I believe would be the... I'm trying to be very diplomatic. Your reasoning not to... Thank you. I appreciate you looking at me. I'm looking at you, sir. And so... I would appreciate to understand why still, even though the excuse that is being used, and these are my words, not yours, for the proposed area at Sallierita Road and La Cañada does not come in consideration with these issues. Number one, there are five churches, three schools, and three health clinics right on La Cañada. Oh, and the food bank. Let's not forget the food bank. All are going to be impacted. Number two is we are not prepared for any kind of explosion from the methane resource that's on the bottom of the accumulated methane that is not released into the air from the dump, which is very close and right next to it. So I just want to take you and put your attention to that. What we don't want in Salyerita is to be Marana or Phoenix. So I ask you to care about your families and my health and your health as well. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Lisa and then Kurt Von Gelden.

It's Von Geldern.

Von Geldern, okay. I'll get that right with Kurt.

Well, yes, thank you, because it's his name, really. Okay, mayor and members of the council, thank you. I just heard that there is no current proposed data center. What I want to draw to your attention is that whatever you may approve and whatever comes in the glossy packets and in the tours of other data centers, you need to be aware of, oh, Dowie Jack, Michigan, a Bitcoin to AI facility, which now faces what its own attorney calls the first class action of its kind in the nation for noise and vibration. The company's response tells you everything. They offered to buy out the neighbor's homes. That sounds to me like an admission of harms. In Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, residents are suing Microsoft over a low frequency hum so deep ordinary decibel meters don't register it. Microsoft's own statement admits neighbors have noticed a tonal humming while insisting the facility meets every ordinance. Compliant is not the same as harmless. You can follow the law and still be causing harm. And we are your citizens. You have a duty and a responsibility to us first, to our health and our well-being. In Granbury, Texas, there are three lawsuits against a crypto facility alleging insomnia, tinnitus, hearing loss, hypertension, even unexplained livestock deaths. The company built a 24-foot sound wall, and residents say it made the noise worse. And that's possible because the sound bounces off these walls, these concrete walls. So the problem with the proposed location, possibly proposed location, is that there's footings from the mine right there. The sound will bounce off those fittings and head east So those people living to the east will get double the impact not just the sound that's heading that way but the Reverbation from what hits the tailings? The noise so let me see it. Sorry at the north is the dump that was just addressed You really should not put a vibration heavy facility on a mine seismic footprint and a methane landfill and call the math simple It's a compounding hazard. My neighbors raise chickens and cattle. I get my eggs from one of them. I get my milk from one of them. Unexplained cattle of animal deaths these people live less than a mile from the proposed site There's multiple people raising livestock Not only that there's as was just mentioned three schools our children live and play in these areas their health and well-being is the future of our community and that has to take a higher priority than the potential potential financial gains from a data center and the truth is they bring in their own construction crews they don't hire our citizens for the most part and And then they leave. And then it's a very low number of people who actually work at the center, but the harms are borne by all of us. I guess I'm done.

Thank you for being here.

But I will be back.

Kurt Von Geldern. I don't want to start a fight in the family, but his penmanship was nicer, so I could read it better.

Thank you. It won't be the last. Mayor, members of Council, thank you. My name is Kurt Von Geldern. I'm asking you to do one thing before you approve any data center parcel, specifically the Region 8 land at Salarita Road and La Cunada Road that Jeremy Sharp referenced in his July 2025 letter to Anna Cassaday, quantifying the liability this body is about to assume. Draw a half-mile ring around the parcel, then one, two, five. Inside those rings are Santa Rita Villas, 218 lots, Green Valley RV Resort, 304 lots, La Cañada, Norte, Santo Tomas, and surrounding subdivisions, conservatively 1,500 to 3,000 homes. Here's what vibration and ground movement do to them. Nearly every home is stucco and stucco cracks. I restuccoed less than half of my house last year, roughly $28,000. Our pool cost over $10,000 to replacer this summer. Structural pool damage could run $10,000 to $40,000. Full replacement can exceed $100,000. I don't need estimates. We already have proof. The Rancho Salarita community pool has been shut down on and off for years. Leaking, foundation failing, repair costs too high to pay. That's one structure. Now multiply it across every home pool in those rings. If even 500 homes average the $45,000 I spent, that's $22.5 million. If 15,000 homes do, it's over $67 million. And that's before property value, loss, or documented health harms. Sleep deprivation, chronic stress, high blood pressure, already the basis of class action lawsuits with these facilities. And those suits don't stop at the operator. In Gary, Indiana, residents left in the dark for two weeks filed a class action. In Hood County, Texas, residents sued city officials themselves. The lesson, the lawsuits come after everyone who touched the decision. A vote is usually protected, but it does not cover a vote taken without the independent study you knew was needed. or ignoring our own community pool or conduct outside vote itself. When the record shows you were warned and this chamber approved anyway. Qualified immunity is not a wall, it's a question for a jury. My ask question before you vote, commission an independent assessment with city oversight. Not one developer pays for because if you approve it without approving a building, You're not approving a building, you're approving a lawsuit. Naming every family in those rings and yourselves. Thank you.

Thank you. Robert Norris, Robin Norris, and then Steven Hogan.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Robin Norse. I'm going to talk about the reckless growth in Sarita. Sarita is at a crossroads. We are facing a stark reality in 26 and beyond concerning our water. We have experienced 26 plus years of drought that have stressed our upper Santa Cruz basin aquifer. The Santa Cruz River bed is dry. CAP is making cuts to Pima County beginning January of 27 due to the crises at Lakes Powell and Mead. expansive growth pushed by our town council leadership means more high density housing development more businesses more industry and more water demand and we have major industrial projects that are here now are projected in the near future the project blue data center in pima county north east of servita has been approved and two commercial wells are estimated to use up to thirty one million gallons of water per year from the upper santa cruz basin aquifer that Sarita pulls from. The Copper World mine, a water intensive project, will require more than 70 billion gallons of groundwater over 20 years of operation. According to literature from the Save the Scenic Santa Rita's, Copper World will become one of the largest consumers of groundwater in southern Arizona. It will use five times more water than the controversial Project Blue data center initially planned to use. Again, this groundwater comes from the upper Santa Cruz aquifer. We could be dealing with another data center on property owned by Sharp, located on Sarita Road in La Canada. It would be approximately 160 acres of land. According to an article in the Sarita Sun, August 26, 26, Sharpe's Rancho Sarita organization has been talking to data center developers. Every new subdivision, every commercial and industrial development adds to our water demand. According to a recent Pima County Data Center Health Impact Study described by Taylor Griffin on September 7, 26, Pima County is considered extremely high risk for water stress, according to the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas. In a region where Tucson water develops, or excuse me, delivers 30 billion gallons of potable water annually to around 722,000 customers. Even a single new industrial user could appreciably shift demand patterns and impact pricing, supply infrastructure and sustainability. Remember, we share that groundwater in that basin. Recommended actions. I urge the Mayor and Town Council to seriously consider the following in order to support our community. Number one, really listen to residents and what they envision. Exponential growth for Sarita is strongly promoted by the Mayor and Town Council, but many residents are saying, wait a minute, not so fast. We don't want that. The 2026...

Just finish up your thought.

Okay. The 2026 citizen survey for Sarita revealed that strong support for growth dropped 72% in 2022. Actually, it was an 18% drop. Many residents feel that the small town feel that has defined Sarita for many years is being lost, and many are concerned that the town is being industrialized. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Stephen Hogan, and then Mel Selway.

Good evening. Good evening.

My name's Steven Hogan. I live in the impacted area just south of the proposed location. So good evening, Mayor, Council, and staff. So my wife and I moved to Sarita 22 years ago from New York. We saw the quiet town that didn't have any large industrial plants and out of control zoning allowances. We were aware of the mining that took place west of us, but the large operations were done many miles to our west. I learned that the town zoning laws prohibited large-scale industrial complexes to be built within the boundaries of Sarita. Otherwise, it was a quiet suburban town with occasional noise from 919. There were many places to this town that offered, so we decided to buy a house here. But let me bring you back to something similar we were all discussing as part of the data centers. There's an argument against Proposition 469. You may remember this one. Please vote no on the proposed Copper Point rezoning, Proposition 469. Responsible growth should not impact current residents and this proposed development does just that. The out-of-town developer didn't address concerns of hundreds of residents about overcrowding of schools, lack of infrastructure planning, and lack of amenities. The town approved the development despite these concerns. As experienced health developers, we know the importance of responsible and sustainable community development. Rancho Cerrito was required to have plans for sewer, water, roads, and amenities. The developer was not. Please vote no on the Cap-A-Point rezoning. That was written by Robert Sharpe, the founder of Rancho Cerrito, and Jeremy Sharpe, vice president of Rancho Cerrito. Now, what's interesting, the specific plan was advanced and recommended for adoption by the Ceuta Planning and Zoning Commission in 2017, but the subsequent rezoning and development back-faced hurdles, including failing a voter referendum in November 2018, mainly due to Bob Sharp's influence. And apparently, the vote was very close, within 300 votes. Some of you who were on council at the time, you probably remember that. Now, Red Point Development, I believe the owner of the land for Copper Point, did follow all the rules. It still got rejected and went to a vote. And back then, it was about protecting the profits for the Sharpe family. Of course, there was even competition for them and keeping out the competition. So today, it's about pure greed by Jeremy Sharpe by inviting a large data center in to make the most out of that acreage. Now, Bob Sharp, love him or hate him, is probably trying to maintain a certain level of duty for the town. Now, Jeremy Sharp and his former employee, Mayor Murphy, are disgracing Bob Sharp's dream of a well-thought-out, beautiful Sarita and Rancho Sarita. A large data center will impact the residents of Rancho Resort, Rancho Sarita, and the community's south of the project with noise, air quality, and the strong possibility of massive industrial fire releasing God knows what into the atmosphere. So let me wrap up, though. I was part of the command and control staff in New York City over the 9-11 attack. I was exposed to the same toxic air days after the attack. Luckily, I did have basic dual cartridge respirator when I went downtown. Now, between 5,000 and nearly 7,000 people have died. I'm sorry.

I'll have to cut you off there. Okay. Appreciate it. Thank you. Mel Selway. And then Rick Corrado.

My name is Mel Selway. Most of you guys know me. Mayor, council, Sarita staff members, residents, thank you for allowing me to speak. Based on my observations from the town council meeting since February 23rd, 2026, I believe that more residents are learning about the proposal to operate copper mines in the northern Santa Rita Mountains and the possible impacts on our communities. I also believe that the town council has patiently listened to and recorded notes from the many presentations regarding those proposed copper mines that have been made during the call to public sessions at the meetings. And I believe that there is an opportunity for cooperation among all residents, council members and non-members of the greater Sarita communities to review the facts related to the operation of these proposed mines as well as to the impacts these operations could have on our communities in order to decide if these mines offer enough benefits to offset the quality of life changes that could be negative. These quality of life factors could include water quality and availability, traffic congestion and hazards related to the heavy trucks carrying goods into and out of the mining locations, Elimination of the animal and bird habitat, which could create dangerous interactions within our communities, and destruction of areas sacred to some indigenous nations. Let's determine which of these factors could come under the regulation of the town so we can identify necessary actions to establish ordinances to ensure compliance. For instance, order recharge rules and regulations compliance including the transparent reporting of the results of the required monitoring to our municipal government agencies so that we can know what is going back into our order sources. For instance, the aquifer impact test results that HUD may offer to send to you guys and they haven't done it. And when you get it, we'd like to see it. Another thing could be truck driver licensing and compliance with applicable traffic laws enforced by our Cerrito Police Department and Pima County Sheriff that might include covered and uncovered loads, load limits, cargo types allowed, and speed limits. Just some examples. Thank you for listening to us and for continuing to work together for the benefit of the communities we each call home.

Thanks, Mel. Rick Corrado and then Noah Sundberg.

Good evening, Mayor Murphy, distinguished members of the town council, town staff. Our small community will face challenges in the near future that will define Sarita for years to come. A pertinent vision and a plan of action must be implemented with no trust and no clear path, the community fears an uncertain future. I believe the first order of business is to address the trust issues. There has to be a better, more appropriate mechanism to communicate and share the research this council has uncovered in their pursuit of truth. What has the council learned that has guided their perception of their thinking remains unclear and we need to get on the same page. And if I might make reference, Councilmember Lytle and Councilmember Piello went to an important water meeting. I know that Councilmember Priolo probably asked a lot of questions, as is her ilk, and she said that she got a lot of answers. Well, my questions would be, what questions were asked? What answers did they receive? And what is the public supposed to know about this? It becomes important to dispel the ambiguity and hate. No sound decision will come from the unknown and conflicting information. The next order of business should be to address the Copper World mining project. Copper World is going to happen. It cannot be legally challenged. However, the question becomes, how do we mitigate the air, the water, the traffic, the ecosystem, and the environment? I've gone over that many times. I still have many questions and I'm still skeptical. The math from my findings leaves me feeling unsure. Global Water, the community water company, and several surrounding water agencies assure us there is no cause for harm. They state the aquifer is going to be fine regardless of the severe cuts to cap water by the US Department of Interior, regardless of residential development, regardless of all three mines that will be in the area, and regardless of the data centers. How does such an egregious water depletion with or likely without possible replenishment ensure aquifer health? Agencies need to clearly explain their position as the logic remains unclear and elusive. Finally, we are told there's no application as yet for the data center, but I have no doubt the waters are being tested. The Community Development Department is obviously aware, as they seem to anticipate the request for a conditional permit. Why else would there be continued communication with Jeremy Sharp and the Rancho Sarita development? However, time still exists to guide and mitigate. Amendments to strengthen the language of the recently passed general plan are in progress. Public input is vital. So what is the best way to communicate your dream of what Sarita should come and why? Show us a path to proper growth and prosperity with trust and transparency unifying us together. And Ramon, if you're still here, you've got your work cut out for you. Thank you.

Thank you, Rick. Noah Sundberg and then Randy Mayer.

Yeah, so I'm going to talk about your cops and your cops that shot at the playground and your cover-up of it, where we wanted the 10 names and you wouldn't give the 10 names. And let's be honest, Green Valley News knew the 10 names and they wouldn't give them to us either of the cops who were involved. And you guys would not give us the names of those that refused to participate in the investigation. I had to get that from another agency. And just as far as the general cover-up of the whole thing, the cop that was on scene was Officer Ford, and that, according to the Water Valley report, the contract was not on body-worn camera. Officer Ford's understanding was that this incident would be handled between agencies, and that is why she did not do more investigation before she left. What's that mean? So, we don't behave the same way, we don't body cam things, although now Marinette says, well, maybe we do have body cam and we'll see what that body cam looks like. And then we don't investigate the same way when it involves officers. And then it says that the primary source for the Oro Valley investigation came from Sarita's Lieutenant Carlson. Why are we investigate, why did Oro Valley lean on us to do the investigation? Let's go over this subordination. This is from what you guys sent me in the public records course. Within hours of being notified of the incident, the chief directed staff to cooperate with the Miranda Police Department investigation. It should be noted that it was advised that police chiefs The Chief Nolan, Cedar Police Department Chief, told all officers at the range that although they had not been served with a notice from the investigation, the investigation was occurring and they were not allowed to speak about the incident outside the public investigation. They definitely did that. I asked everybody. I got the same answer. And they were required to cooperate with the investigation. They definitely did not do that, five of them, and they were rewarded for not doing it. So Detective Cota, the one that botched the murder trial, He, in his investigation, he advised that at the time he did not wish to provide any statements. Sergeant Medina called, this is from the report, called me, and when I requested to set up a time to speak with him about the incident, he advised me he did not wish to provide a statement. Over the course of the investigation, contact was made with Detective Villanueva, Officer Trujillo, and Officer Nunez, and I never received any callbacks from these. They were all in subordination and none of them were punished. What does that mean? The chief said, you will participate. They didn't participate. Who was the range safety officer? We still don't know. I might have to get this to next time if we don't get through it all, at least this portion. But the first response officer was advised to be Sergeant Sanchez when the cops first were called. Lieutenant Carlson explained that Sergeant Medina was a senior firearms instructor, and he was the range safety officer. He stated that he was the one who made the decisions to move the range, and he had to set it up the way that it was set up at the time of the incident. Always goes to best practices that you have multiple officers. You have a fire instructor an officer in a range after officers couldn't be both He was the only one wearing the Reds the red shirt to be represented as a fire instructor officer I'll go back to this one again. It'll take a few weeks, but thank you You haven't covered it you covered it up.

We want better appreciate it fire the chief Randy mayor and then Jeff Millen I think is the last

Good evening, mayor and vice mayor, council members, and staff. Over the last few months, you have heard the concerns raised about putting a massive data center in the center of our community, right at the most prominent entrance of Sahuarita. We've heard some versions of the same response, and we heard it tonight from town manager Shane Dilley. The property has development rights, that piece of property on the corner of Salvadorito Road and La Cañada going back to the 1996 plan. It has its own general plan and there is nothing the town can do about it. But I'm not sure that is the whole story. Arizona Revised Statute 12-1134 says that Arizona law does protect property owners when new land use regulations diminish the value of their property. I understand that. but ARS 12-1134 also specifically recognizes exceptions for the protection of public health, sanitation, and safety, regulations, Restrictions on fire, solid or hazardous waste and pollution control. In other words, the way I read that statute is that you are not powerless. There are things that this town council can do. And that matters when we're talking about putting a massive industrial facility directly across from a senior community. within a half mile of five schools and less than a quarter of a mile, just right over the interstate, to the only hospital in our area. What about the constant industrial noise? What about the enormous electrical demand? What about large-scale lithium-ion battery storage and the possibility of a very tragic, toxic fire? What about emergency response and evacuation? What about the landfill next door and the unanswered questions about methane? Those aren't excuses to stop development. Those are legitimate public health and safety questions that we've already heard this evening. And there are so many ways that the council can step in. So please stop telling us that there's nothing the community can do Tell us instead what you can do. We want to hear what you can do. You can demand independent studies. You can establish strong noise protection. You can insist upon strong fire and emergency protections. So when Arizona law provides an exemption to the law, when regulations are genuinely necessary to protect public health and safety, then I believe this council has an obligation to explore exactly how far that authority goes. So don't begin with the rights of the developer, coddling the developer, wanting to protect his land.

I've got to, sorry, I've got to cut you off.

Begin with the safety of our community. Thank you. And I invite you all to come to our rally and speak.

Thank you.

Okay?

Jeff. I'm sorry. Yes. Well, if you're going to respond, we have to wait to the end of the call to the public, is what I've been told. If anybody is mentioned and wants to respond, John, am I correct, that you have to wait to the end of the call to the public? Off.

Yes, that's correct. Thank you. Any comment to criticism can be done at the end of the call to the public.

Okay. This isn't a comment in response to criticism.

Right, but it has to wait until the call to the public. Yes. Then we shouldn't respond at all. Unless you want to.

the microphone okay I'm sorry at the end of the call to the public we have three options one is respond to criticism one is to ask staff to look into the issue and another one is to put the item on a future agenda yep thank you your time hasn't started and then Keith Denny

And I think that will probably, after those two, Lisa, you're tracking that for me, right? Thank you.

Go ahead. Hello, my name is Jeff Miller. I live in Haleisha, Arizona.

Where your right hand is, on the podium, there's a little black button. You can raise the podium up to you. Appreciate it.

I live in Helvetia, Arizona. My name is Jeff Miller. I've lived there for nine years. I recently had to move from my residence because Hutt Bay has an alarm that's been going off pretty much all the time. And so now I'm residing in Green Valley. I would like to make this council aware of my interactions with Hutt Bay as a I don't really like having them as a neighbor. So as a side note, I would like to mention that if they're wanting to build a big garbage pit right there, I work at the airport. It's a billion dollar industry. We have tourism in southern Arizona. And when the aircraft come in from the north, and I watch them all day long, They circle right around the Santa Rita Mountains, and the first impression for all the tourists is gonna be, wow, why did I come here? There's a big garbage dump. So that's a big turnoff to people's real estate value. When I look at the Santa Rita Mountains from my mom's house in Green Valley, I imagine what it would look like with a big garbage dump. Okay, so what is it like to live next to HUD Bay? First of all, why didn't they just approach the community and disclose their intentions? Because for the first two years, they were disguised as Tiramar Properties, which is a real estate company that secretly acquired all the property up there. So there's 75 households and various other landowners that uh that they each individually were targeted and why didn't we just come together as a community and why didn't hud bay just disclose their intentions so they didn't put hud bay on their vehicles so starting four months ago like the cat is out of the bag so it's a big secret So there was a fire in the Santa Rita Mountains, and my family and I had to evacuate. No apology was ever made to me. No financial payment was ever made to me. I had to board my horse for a week, and I had to have my horse professionally transported. Oh. Hudbay, you would think they would admit that they were guilty and apologize to me. So what? Did they learn from this? No. A year later, there was another fire, which I called in to the fire department, and I called Mr. Bustamante on his cell phone, woke him from his sleep, and he was completely unaware, and they didn't even have a fire watch. So... Also, a giant bulldozer has driven over my bridge and my driveway has been completely destroyed. I can't get water deliveries, so I'm asking who can guide me in the right direction. who is to address this matter, because when I attempted to go talk to a supervisor at Hutt Bay, they had the Sheriff's Department show up at my house, and the two deputies were questioning me about why I went into their office and was looking for a supervisor. I'm sorry. I'm very distraught over this. Your time is up. I apologize. Thank you.

Thank you. Keith Denny, and I think that probably takes us to, yeah, Keith Denny. And then I'll recess, we'll go on, and then, again, we'll be here, and if anybody wants to stick around, we'll finish up, call to the public. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, Ms. Vice Mayor, members of the council, staff, my fellow citizens, you know I was struck driving over here by what a beautiful town this is, and I hope we can work together to keep it that way. Tough act to follow, Reverend Randy, but to amplify somewhat on what he says, 100%. There is a law, and he had the number right. It says, the first 70 words of that law say, thou shalt not mess around with property rights, and if you do, you better be ready to pay. But I have some good news for this council because the next 30 words of that statute, as the Reverend mentioned, explicitly exempt health and safety regulations from that rule. In other words, this council has all the authority that it needs to enact health and safety regulations that prohibit data centers. We certainly know from the public record adduced in this chamber, this meeting, and last month, any number of other independent sources are available that will tell you the same thing. Data centers are a health and safety menace. You have the authority you need. Yes, the law says don't fuss around with people's property rights, and I think a lot of people can agree with that, right up to the point where you're affecting people's health and safety. That's where this council, if you will forgive my directness, needs to protect us. We voted for you. We pay for you. We want you to take care of us. You have the authority to do it. We sure hope we can trust you to do so. Thank you very much.

Thank you for being here. Appreciate it. Next, we move to consent agenda. I don't see any motion at this time.

So moved.

Do I have a second? Second. Motion and a second. All in favor signify by aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Item number nine, Madam Clerk.

Item number nine is a report from Art State Arizona Partnership regarding their impact and the winners of the Saharita Photography Contest Award.

Thank you. And Jody Gurin, Parks and Rec Deputy Director, will introduce the item. Matt Roland from Art State Arizona will, I think, be here and present the item. Jody? Cool pictures.

Yes, good evening, Honorable Mayor and Council.

That black button can lower it for you, too. No, by your elbow, by your right elbow.

Can you not see me?

Well, there you go. I just didn't know if it was comfortable.

Just in case. I am vertically challenged. I want to go ahead and introduce Matt Roland, who's here, and he's got with him, okay, you're going to have to remind me your name again.

Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Fromm. They are here to talk to you this evening about the Art States Year in Review. They'll do that first, and then they're going to talk about the photography and the winners this year. And I believe they have some of the winners here with us tonight. So I'm going to turn that over to Matt.

Thank you. And if you want to just begin with, I knew you as Saka, if you want to talk a little bit about the history for the audience and listening public.

Absolutely. Well, good evening, Mayor and Council. Thank you so much for the invitation to be here tonight. We look forward to this night every year because it's a chance to talk about all the great work that the Parks and Recreation Department does throughout the year, and also we get to support with our role as an arts facilitator, a public art coordinator, and helping expand the reach of all of those programs. So as Mayor mentioned, we have recently changed our name. It's been officially a year now. It was exactly a year ago at this council meeting that we announced that change as part of our rollout. But we changed our name from the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance, which we've been known for since 2008. We first started in 1997 and we're now called Art State Arizona and we decided to update that name in part because of all the work that was happening up in the Phoenix area as well. We partner with many municipalities up in the Phoenix area now. And so we wanted a name that reflected all the good work that is coming out of southern Arizona and now influencing the Phoenix area as well. So we're very proud and happy for our partnership. And I wanted to just talk a little bit about the work that we were able to do this past year in partnership with Parks and Rec. As I mentioned, our work as an organization is to support any opportunity that benefits an artist in Southern Arizona and throughout Arizona. Our goal is to bring art and creative opportunities to communities throughout the state of Arizona. We view the arts as essential infrastructure for a healthy community. And our partnerships with towns and municipalities are a big part of how we create new programs and keep those programs fresh and help people experience the arts and see themselves as artists as well. So this past year we had a couple feature projects that we focused on. So our signature event for the partnership is the Art on the Lake Festival, which takes place every year in January. So last year it was on, this year it was January 10th, and next year it will be on Saturday, January 9th, 2027. You can mark your calendars now. It's one of my favorite events of the year. We take over the lake park, we feature about a dozen cultural performance groups, huge variety of traditions, including student performers, professional performers, and so it's just a great way for people to meet performance styles of different traditions. We have food vendors, we have an artisan market, a lot of hands-on activities for youth. And so it's become a signature event for both the town and for our calendar, draws about 5,000 people to the park every year. So we're looking forward to that and we're brainstorming some creative uses of the lake this year. We always try to do something new and creative every year to surprise people. And so this year we're looking at some neat options for that installation. The public art assessment and maintenance, that's been a big project this past year. As many of you know, since 2018, we've been partnering with Parks and Rec to bring new murals and sculptures and work into the park spaces. And to date, we've done nearly 40 pieces of public art. After, what are we at now, seven years or so, it was time to take stock. How are these murals doing? Is there updates that need to be done? How are the sculptures faring? And so it was time for an assessment. That's an important part of any public art program. And so Parks and Rec asked us to do an assessment of all of the pieces, rate their current status, rank them in terms of needs and priorities for restoration, treatment. And so we came up with a good plan of action for that. And now we have a ongoing maintenance plan for treating these murals and making sure that they're presentable beautiful and live up to the artistic creation that they were and also putting in pieces the place for new artwork they'll be coming in and working with the advisory committee on that brainstorming Another signature event that we started last year is Sarita Oktoberfest, and we're very excited to have the second annual Oktoberfest coming up here in just a couple weeks. In a minute, you'll meet Jonathan Fromm, who is our booking and creative programs manager, who plays a big hand in getting all those creative performances to come together. We've got a great lineup of polka music and Polish folk dancing. There's some incredible outfits that you will see that are totally authentic. it's not costumes totally authentic wear uh and i'm still hoping the mayor will come and grace us with his presence with his uh you ran a bratwurst for me last year so we got to order more bratwurst and many of you will remember last year we had a very scary rain prediction that day and we still had several thousand people come to the event and it was just a beautiful evening of community and celebrating culture and so we're excited to have that coming back friday september 25th totally free event for the community And then our photography competition, the signature, this is the fourth annual photography competition and every year we come up with a few new categories to engage our photographers. And as you can now see out in the town hall complex lobby we have the new pieces installed and we are here today to honor those winners and those honorable mention photographers and celebrate their work. So the photography competition was created four years ago with a few goals. One, we wanted to, of course, engage all the incredible photographers we have living here in Sarita, but also invite photographers in from surrounding area to come and document the beauty that can be found around Sarita. And all of these photos become, they're given to the town of Sarita to use in marketing materials and they get used in calendars and promotional materials. And of course it's a real creative opportunity for these photographers to get their work seen, for aspiring young photographers and several of whom we'll meet tonight. This year we have 364 photos, which is a new record for the competition. Every year it continues to grow. That was submitted by over 50 professional amateur photographers. And all these photos were taken in and around Sarita. And each year we make some decisions on defining what that boundary is depending on the submissions. But this year I'm happy to report that over half of those entrants were new photographers that came and submitted work. So we love to see people coming back each year to present new work, but also of course reaching new people with the competition. This year our categories included land, water, and adaptation. That's the nature-centered category. Work of light. Last year we had... an incredible amount of photos that were submitted. We only had one light category, and we said, we really need to split this up into two. So we had work of light, which is just looking at shadows and lights and contrast, and then night in Sarita, documenting the night skies. Parks and public spaces, so photographers had to document something that happened in a town park. And then Sarita at work, celebrating Well, that's what it says, Serena at work, workplaces. So that could be schools, it could be places of business. So we wanted to bring in the business community into that category. And then youth photographer showcase. The photographers needed to be under 18 for that category. We distributed more than $2,000 in prizes. We had about a dozen community members participate in the voting process, the judging process, including professional photographers, town staff members. citizen representatives from different arts groups. So it was a very diverse panel that participated in the judging process. And there's my bullet point there. Seven judging teams including professional photographers and town staff and local art teachers. So we're going to tag team the awards a little bit. And we do have some of those photographers present. And so if you got a first, second, or third, and you are here, we're going to invite you to come up to get a certificate. We only have certificates here on site for the first, second, and third. But then honorable mentions, we're going to have you stand in place and be recognized. And then at the end, we're asking all the photographers to come up in front. And we'll take a photo. And any council or mayor is invited to please be in that photo. That way you can celebrate their success. And I'm going to invite my colleague, Jonathan Fromm, who has helped me run this competition this year and will be moving forward to start our awards recognitions.

Good evening. Welcome.

Thank you, Mayor and Council, for having us. Aside from being Matt's silly cohort at Art State Arizona, I am creative programs manager. One of the many hats that I wear, as he had stated, is coordinating the photography competition. So this has been so incredible to see over 360 submissions come in, all of such incredible quality from the community. Let's get started. Oh, and it was an honor to serve you bratwurst.

Thank you.

Okay, we'll begin with Land, Water, and Adaptation, celebrating the landscapes, plants, wildlife, and natural systems that shape life in Sarita. Our first place winner is Lisa Kimbley for A Bug's Eye View. Lisa, if you're here, you're welcome to come up front and gather your award.

If Lisa's here, don't be shy.

All right. Next up, our second place winner is Tim Corris for Baby Owl. Tim, if you are present, you're welcome to take your award off our hands. And our third place winner in this category is Dan Davis for Nut Grove. Good job. Dan is a recent transplant from the Midwest. Him and his wife moved here to Green Valley not that long ago. He arrived without even owning a camera, but found the unfamiliar Sonoran desert so inspiring that he bought new equipment and began photographing again. Four of his photographs were ultimately recognized in this year's competition. Dan, if you are here, you're welcome to come forward.

If I can ask a question, are drones allowed? That looks like a drone shot. I don't know how you got that high above the pecan groves.

Yes, we do allow drones.

You do allow drones. OK.

He's just an avid climber.

And then to recognize our five honorable mentions, because we had so many submissions this year, and we chose five this year, and those were Resilience in Reflections by Satha V. Weldon, Cactus Study 3 by Dan Davis, Johan Maxwell the Blue Bird, Dan Davis Brood, Chuck Russell's Great Blue Heron. I know a few of these photographers are here, so would you please stand?

Come on up.

Thank you all for those beautiful photos.

Dan Davis was busy.

All right, we'll move into our work of light category. So the theme for this was light and shadow, how it transforms Sarita's landscape, architecture, everyday moments. We had 82 submissions in this category. And first place this year goes to someone who has placed before, a very known photographer to many of us. So Aubrey Prestwich, congratulations.

Please don't go in there doing monsoon season, though. That's the only thing I'm asking.

Second place goes to Kim Holmes with the photo Milky Way Backdrop. Congratulations, Kim. And our third place winner is Nicholas Salazar for Presenting Colors. Nicholas, are you present?

There we go.

While he's coming up here, I'll mention that Nicholas is a first-time competitor, student photographer at Sarita High School. He captured this image during the opening of the school's 2026 graduation ceremony, racing across the football field to photograph the JROTC color guard from the opposite side, just as the setting sun created the silhouette in gold and white. Great job. We had two honorable mentions in this category. Christopher Travers for roadside assistance and Thomas J. Codwalder for pins and needles. How about a hand for these two?

All right. Next up, we're going to turn down the lights. Our next category is Night in Sarita, celebrating community and the desert after the sun goes down. Our first place winner is Dan Davis for Desert Moon. Next up, second place winner is Holly Mansfield for Coming in for a Treat. And third place goes to Genesis Villa-Lopez for Lobo Rojo.

Excellent. Congrats.

Great job. Yeah.

We have a few honorable mentions here. First off to Kayla Carver for Full of Life, Genesis Villalobos again for Confetti, and Christian Morales for Lake Beneath the Galaxy.

All right, now we move on to the Parks and Public Spaces category. So the vision for this category is to celebrate the public spaces that bring people together through recreation and community. It's 76 submissions in this category. First place goes to Christian Morales for May's Gate to the Stars. Congratulations, Christian. Second place goes to Celeste Boudreaux for Sarita Lake After Sunset. Congratulations, Celeste. And third place goes to Tim Kouros, Eye of the Tiger. Our honorable mentions this year in this category are Valerie Stewart, oops, skipped ahead. Sarah Rooser for Sonora Cycling Club, members out enjoying their weekly morning ride. Sathavi Weldon for Where Wonder Begins. Tina Sorcey for Lake Snow. And Paul Livingston for Sarita Park. If you're here, please stand and be recognized.

I'm just wondering when we had that much snow at the lake.

Oh, that's what it was, okay. It's melted by nine, right?

All right, our next category is Sarita at Work. We're recognizing the people, businesses, industries, and everyday work to keep this community moving. Our first place winner is Nisa Talavera for Work Family. All right, next up is Valerie Stewart for Work Truck. And third place also goes to Valerie Stewart for Ranch Work. Our honorable mentions are Valerie Stewart for Time Machine, Aubrey Prestwich for The Heart of Music, and Nicholas Salazar for At Long Last.

All right, now we move to our final category, the Youth Photographer Showcase. And the goal of this is to recognize our youth photographers. So as I mentioned, they have to be 18 or younger, or under 18, excuse me. So our first place winner is this photo, The Graceful Dancers by Johan Maxwell. Congratulations, Johan Maxwell. Thank you. And I will mention too that when we finish with this category, we'd love to invite all the photographers to come up and we'll take a photo together. Oh, I have a couple notes. This picture, oh no, this one is not so. Nicholas Salazar Fein. Nicholas took this photo just moments after Sarita High School's 2026 graduation. It captures his longtime friend Luna Valencia celebrating with a final burst of confetti, a moment that made Nicholas reflect on how quickly time moves. Congratulations. Don't go too far. Third place is Nicholas's photo, home. And I'll add that Nicholas moved to Sarita from California in 2020. And photography, he says, became part of how he learned to appreciate his new home here. He began noticing details. He had initially overlooked the color of the soils and cactus, wildlife, weather, and sunsets, and began capturing them through his camera. Thank you so much, Nicholas. Congratulations. And our honorable mentions go to Paxton Ray in Galito for Views in Sarita, Alyssa Godshaw for Pretty in Pink, and Johan Maxwell for Family Bonding.

Thank you.

And that wraps up our recognitions and awards for this year's photography competition. Again, thank you all so much for sharing your vision. And seeing Sarita through your lens every year is a real joy. And I know the council feels likewise. So please, one more round of applause for our competitors this year. And with the council's approval, we'd love to take a group photo.

Absolutely. Do you want to leave that one as a backdrop?

Yep.

Anybody wants to join us?

And I'll just mention, as everyone's coming up, that Sarita Oktoberfest, if anyone does want to take some flyers home, they're in the lobby at the front desk.

Great job. Okay, ready? Ready. And then I'm gonna take a couple on this one. Oh, we're good. Oh, we're good. Yeah, we're good. Well done. Well, thank you. Congratulations. Good job. Good job. Good job. Congratulations.

Well, congratulations again. I was looking at the number on some of those submissions, 83, 48, unless he was mentioning breaking records of how many people have submitted. Madam Clerk, item number 10, please.

Saharita Teen Advisory Council Conference Report in 2026-2027 Annual Preview.

Thank you. And Bianca Quijada, our management assistant, will introduce students from the Salarita Teen Advisory Council, STAC, who will present this item. Good evening, Bianca.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Today, I am pleased to have some members of our Student Teen Advisory Council here to present an annual preview of their planned activities and initiatives for the 2026-2027 school year. Before we get started on this presentation, as you all know, Luke Smith, his last day was last Thursday with the town. So we wanted to do a little formal recognition for him.

I know, I saw him way in the back. He's afraid of us for leaving us. That's right.

Yes, and at this time, I'll pass it over to Shane to have a couple of words.

Thank you.

Mayor and Council, as Luke is making his way up, totally unexpected by Luke, but we got with his better half and asked what his favorite stuff was. He doesn't need to admit what's in that bag, but he'll enjoy it. Anyway, so we wanted to just do a little bit of a shout out for Luke as we had the opportunity with him being here tonight. Luke was instrumental in guiding us through this last legislative session with the state legislature, working with council member Priolo as the council's ambassador, legislative ambassador, working with our state lobbyists and our federal lobbyists to advance the key initiatives that were established by the council as your legislative agenda and priorities for the year. On top of that, he worked on a number of projects for the town to include working with Bianca and kind of shepherding the STAC program to integrate more of a civic awareness, not just events, but to better understand what happens in their community, what is local government, what does the mayor and council do, what do all the departments do, and have an opportunity to interact with those functions. And so it was a bit of a game changer for the STAC program. It's still currently evolving into that larger vision. But Luke was instrumental in getting that started for us and getting us on the right track. So we wanted to do a shout out for Luke and thank him for his time with our family. We're pleased that he's not leaving the community. just working in a different capacity, but I'm sure that his influence will continue to shine and support our community in other ways.

Thank you. Debbie swears you'll be back in a week, so I'm not sure if that's... Don't look that way. Don't look that way.

I think that's worthy of a speech from...

Absolutely. You've got to say a few words. Come on now.

AC, we're getting some feedback on these mics right now.

Well, I'm going to have to talk with my wife when I get back home.

Had I known this was going to happen, I probably would not have shown up tonight.

I just want to say it's been truly an honor to serve with the town. It's been an education. And I truly respect and admire all of you the diligence you apply to your position to do the best you can for this community. And I really appreciate that, and I found it inspiring. So thank you. And I won't be introducing the STAC students, but I will say that they are a tremendous group of young individuals, and I think you will enjoy seeing what they can do this year.

Thank you for all you did, Luke. Appreciate it.

So the Student Teen Advisory Council provides an opportunity for local students to become actively involved in their community. They share their ideas and perspectives and help develop programs and activities that are meaningful to local youth. Throughout the upcoming year, the council plans to participate in a variety of community events, service projects, leadership opportunities, and activities designed to encourage youth involvement and engagement within our community. So presenting today, we have Abigail Peace, Leila Hernandez, Evie Flyth and Kokoa Crofts. They'll be sharing an overview of their council's plans and goals for the upcoming year, as well as some of the activities and events they are looking forward to throughout the 2026-2027 school year. So with that, I'll turn it over to the Stax students, 2%.

Thank you, welcome. Good to see you again.

Good evening, mayor, council members, and staff. We are super excited. These are who's presenting with me today. This year, we have 17 members, some of which are here today. In the back, we have Whitney, we have Valerie, we have Raina, and we have Erlin. and we were already introduced. So we are super excited about this group this year and we are looking forward to all the things we can do with this amount of people. We do have, we're learning from different departments. Again, thanks to how Luke set it up. We are super excited to see how these different departments interact and just continue learning and deepening our knowledge. We are also excited for our council meetings. And it's such an excellent way for us to put what we're learning into our perspective and just be hands on. And we are super excited to grow as we become more confident as leaders and the eyes and ears of the community. This being my third year, I really want to make this year a great year for everyone and just continue to grow it even more.

Thank you.

Yeah, just as Abby was saying, STAC started off with boot camp. What that basically was was like it was introduction to STAC for members that hadn't been a part of it in past years and for members returning. I was a first-year member, so this was all new to me, but got me right into the program and with activities like icebreakers, We got to know our whole council and got to strengthen bonds with them and become friends. And then we got to brainstorm ideas. A lot of us had ideas coming into this school year about what we wanted to do for our community and how we wanted to change it and events that we could put on for the youth of this town and how to make that better. And we brainstormed teen issues as well. That was one very big thing we hit on because we know there's many things in this community that need help and some that don't. And we wanted to see what we could do as a stack to help our community.

Yes. One of our conferences that we have this year is the League of Arizona Cities and Town called ALACT. This year was very memorable because we had so many of our members come with us. Last year we only had three and one. supervisors so it was very like nice to see a whole like more people come and help us promote our town and we learned a lot over the conference and it was just so much so much that we've gathered gathered and information that we have learned to improve on what we can do as stack

So we have a lot of plans for this year. Usually we're not able to do a lot of events. So this year we already have a date set. We're going to do a full drive-in movie. It might not end up being a drive-in movie, but we're going to do a movie outdoors, so that'll be really fun. And then we're also going to do Winterfest again. We usually have our hot chocolate out, and we do our little chains for all the kids to write their wishes to Santa. And then we also are going to do Fiesta Sarita this year. Last year we weren't able to, but in the past we have done. We have a little game set up, and we'll promote for Stack in the future years. Okay.

You've done a dunk tank before as well. You just didn't tell me there was a step inside there to help get back up. I really appreciated that.

We also are looking forward to our teen memorial, and this year we are going to do a lot more promoting because we didn't have a lot of attendance last year, which is a good thing when you think about it too. But we are looking forward to being able to do all of these events this year.

Great. Thank you. Well, thank you. Any questions? Or just thank you, and it was, yeah, go ahead.

I was going to make one. I just wanted to, I know that this doesn't affect you guys, but I wanted to let you guys know the history. Mayor Lynn Skelton was the one that put this forth, this idea of having teen leadership. involved in the community and what's called stack. I actually remember them naming it the first time. And I just wanted to, I love seeing that. So it's been over 18 years that this has been going forward. And so I love seeing how it's morphed and how it's coming. And thank you, Luke. I want Mr. Smith. He goes to Washington, actually. Thank you, Luke and Bianca, for sending it in a direction that I think is going to be super awesome for this community. So thank you.

Yeah, thanks, especially for the attendance. We probably had one of the largest stack equivalents up there, and obviously I'm always proud, we're always proud that you get to carry our flag during the Parade of Flags. And maybe Spike, but we have to fix Spike, I think, first, right? On there. But, you know, thanks for your youth, all of the youth, for what you do to help provide a voice for us. So I'm excited that you're going to be at the State of the Town, too, next week. So we'll get to feature them a little bit. Thanks again. Appreciate it.

How many of them are going to stay at a time?

I think, Bianca, Lou, 11. Nice. Yeah.

All of you guys going to be there? Sure will.

They get to skip school.

Well, it's not technically skipping because they have to make it up. I learned when I went to lunch with them. You know, like, oh, you get a day off. No, you've got to double the work now. So I realize that. But thanks again. Appreciate all that you do. Thank you for having us. Thanks. Thank you. madam clerk item 11 please discussion regarding the Anza trail school playground improvements thank you and Dylan and Jody's up again Dylan with our park and rec facilities manager yep I see him coming we'll be presenting the silent item and I see Aaron the chair of our park and rec Commission I heard I hope you heard the shout out for the hive earlier tonight there thanks

Very good. Thank you, Mayor and Council. I'm really excited about this little project. Dylan's going to give you an update about the project. But before he does, I just want to share with you, when the school district was preparing for this project, they were going about their business designing it and preparing to install new playground equipment. And it was Dylan, really, who recognized the opportunity in that we had playground money budgeted for replacement equipment. And he inserted himself and inquired to see if there might be an opportunity to partner and make both of our projects go a little further. Because we knew that playground really needed to be replaced and updated. And we wanted to see some changes made to it that would improve the maintenance and limit the amount of effort that has to go on in that area. And nice side benefit, it also provided much improved accessibility, which is something I think Aaron wants to comment on at the end. So, Dylan, do you want to come give an overview?

And thanks, Dylan. I know your collaborative effort with SUSD has paid off, whether it's the condition of the fields that we share and all of the above. So I just wanted to thank you.

Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Members of the council, it's a pleasure to be here tonight. Talking about the Hansa Trail playground placement. So as Jody said, that Hansa Trail playground was fairly old. It was originally installed in 2008 when the school was constructed and was the oldest remaining playground in our collective inventory. Some of the key issues that needed to be addressed were inadequate ADA access, insufficient safety surfacing depth, and difficulty sourcing replacement components given the age. of the playground. So per our IGA with SUSD, the playground has shared oversight between both entities, right? The playground belongs to them, but as it's a public park, I do all the safety inspections, make sure everything's taken care of over there. With SUSD's successful 2023 bond package, renovations, facility repairs, and construction were identified as key funding priorities. And again, as she said, working with the SUSD team, we collectively agreed that that playground was sorely in need of replacement. So as part of the fiscal 27 budget cycle, Parks and Rec was granted and approved CIP by you all gracious folks to assist with 50% of the costs coming in, actually just shy of $400,000. So many of you may have been at the playground once or twice. This is the original playground. It doesn't really do it great justice, but the image on the left, you can kind of see the shadow created by the curb. So that whole playground was down in about a three and a half foot bowl down in the bottom of the ground. That caused issues with inadequate play servicing, which, again, you can see on the image on the left around that concrete donut there, that circle. But then it was shallow throughout the depth of the entire playground consistently. Always a struggle to maintain adequate depth over there. So without further ado, we'll go on to some of these construction photos. Core Construction, partnered with SUSD, began the project in early July 2026, concluding mid-August just shortly after school resumed.

They removed the outdated playground equipment.

Originally there was discussion on whether or not we were going to raise the grade of the entire playground area because it was going to be a significant lift. They decided to go ahead and do that work and it took 40 truckloads of material to lift that bowl into a level grade. managed to do so without having to adjust the shade structures which was another big cost we were concerned with but they moved forward got the new playground installed um day bang play world we have worked with them in the past great company great product they installed the new equipment and then their uh contractor installed the new rubberized servicing so This is what the Onza playground looks like today. So if you haven't been out there, I highly encourage you to get out and check it out because it is much improved. Credit goes to Joey Bridges for this image. We were out there doing our final walkthrough, and our marketing interim gentleman, Joey, caught this nice panoramic view of the playground.

That could have been a phono winner.

Could have been. Have some more here, just again. Beautiful new playground equipment, brand-new swing sets. The swings was one of the issues at the old playground. Consistent maintenance issues on that one. Awesome new net climber out there and some nice updated equipment. The kids seemed to really like those little grassy hills that are in the image, and then the net climber seemed like it was a pretty big hit as well. So just a little feel-good win for us here. Got a little video. I'm not exactly sure. Lisa, do we know how to play this video?

And just for a reminder, everybody, Onza Trail is the largest school. It's larger than both high schools, either high school. So to make those kinds of improvements at that school.

Again, just a cool little video while we were out there doing our little final walkthrough with them, and a bunch of school kids came out for recess, so we got to capture some of that.

Thank you.

Yeah, absolutely.

Aaron, were you going to say anything? I know you were a special ed teacher over there, so how that will impact maybe the students you used to work with.

So I just want to say thank you, Mayor and Council, for going forward with this, for allowing us to do this, because I worked at Onza Trail as a special education teacher for over 10 years. So I just recently retired. And I had so many students that could not access that playground. And I had asked several people about taking the mulch out and putting in the rubberized material. I myself fell over and scraped my knee and then I had kids that were actually were upset because they couldn't get into that. Even my son, I would have to hold his hand to go in there because he would go and play with me sometimes when I was there late and I'd give him a break. He would get mulch in his shoes, and he had AFO braces, and the mulch would get stuck. So I am not a fan, I will tell you, and I will bite you tooth and nail to get rid of mulch. But I want to say thank you to Marin Council for replacing that and doing so much work. I've been there many times with my son. He's been playing the drums. And honestly, it's money worth everything. well spent for so many of the kids that I've worked with in the past. And I have a special person who one of my students, Sandy, and it's OK that I say her name because she's graduated since. But we took videos of the park with her and how she would fall over. And it just was dangerous. And so, yeah, so thank you to Dylan, my hero, for getting it done, and to Devin. So yeah, it seems like one park, but it's between the inclusive park at Animax and the, I mean, I'm emotional about it because it makes a huge difference. And I work with adults with disabilities now. And they go to the inclusive park and the splash park and have a ball. And it's a beautiful thing to see that we're moving into the ages where we can include everybody in our community.

Thank you, thanks for all the things you do too. Appreciate it. Any questions for Dylan or Jody? Just awesome job, yeah. I haven't been over there since Hans is doing their 9-11 on Friday. I'll be too competitive.

Thanks. Mayor, we'll pass this on to Dr. V and their team and just make sure they know how much we appreciate the partnership. Having talked with him on a regular basis about this, they're super excited about the outcome and the ongoing partnership between the town and the school district.

I know we'd love to see the video. Yeah, for sure. Thanks. Thank you. Madam Clerk, item 12A.

Discussion and possible action regarding the infrastructure development agreement with Cypress Climate Metals Company and the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation.

Say that three times fast. Nathan Barrett, our community development deputy director, will present this item. Hi, Nathan. Okay.

Mr. Mayor, members of the council, I do not have a presentation tonight. And I hope that will help me to speed through this in a timely manner. As you know, we have been in talks with the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation for a number of years. This is the nonprofit organization that runs the Phoenix Zoo. They have leased land that is just outside of our town boundaries. They have leased it from Climax Cypress Metal Company, a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoran. And back in January, the council approved a pre-annexation development agreement that laid out a roadmap for the process by which we're going to bring those lands into the town and make them a part of the town of Saurita. The first step in that roadmap was the approval of a joint infrastructure agreement, and that's what's before us today. Just a quick recap, once this agreement is in place, the next step will be for the town of Saurita to file a blank petition with Pima County A step after that is for all parties to sign the petition and return it to the town of Sahuarita. And then after that, there will be a town council meeting in which we approve that annexation action. So we're not quite there yet, but this is an important step in that process. Before you is a copy of the joint infrastructure agreement. I'm going to attempt to summarize it, but I will note that Mr. Juneman, who is the attorney for ACNC, is here tonight, as well as Mr. Palladini, who is attorney for the town of . So if I oversimplify or misstate things, I hope that they Tackle me and take the microphone away for me to correct the record. The joint infrastructure agreement summarizes the infrastructure that will be needed to serve this property and who has what responsibility for those infrastructure improvements. It breaks it down into three categories of infrastructure. I'm going to take them in reverse order from what they are in the agreement, and that's basically because I'm going in the order of least complicated to most complicated so that we can then talk about the most complicated at the end. So first is water. This part of the agreement is fairly simple. There is water service, a water service company in that area, presumably Global Water, though it could be another company. And this agreement basically stipulates that ACNC will be responsible for providing the water for their property. Sewer is a little bit more complicated. There is a Pima County property in this annexation that will eventually be developed into a regional wastewater facility When that development happens this new ACNC facility will tie into that this agreement allows the facility the ACNC facility to operate on an alternative method If they get up and running before the Pima County facility does we don't want them to be held back by mismatch in timelines. So those are water and sewer. With the sewer agreement also ACNC pays the cost of that service. Which then brings us to the access road. The access road is envisioned to double dip, if you will, the access road to Walden Grove. But rather than stop at the entrance of the high school, it will continue north. It's envisioned to be a mile and a quarter, 1.25 miles. from Walden Grove High School to provide a primary access to the project. Some key design elements include a roundabout at the Walden Grove High School access, a two-lane paved road with approximately 12-foot travel lanes, and a six-foot paved shoulders, drainage improvements, earthwork, and grading, and a multi-use path from Cerrito Road to the roundabout. And the funding becomes available from from PAG through a regional transportation alternative grant, that multi-use path could extend all the way to the facility itself. This agreement stipulates that Climax Cypress or Freeport-McMoran will dedicate the right-of-way necessary for this road, and the cost of the road then will be paid for by the town. We are looking at funding options including the RTA to help to pay for that road. So with that there are some other legalese provisions in here. I'm not sure if I'm doing it justice, and if I'm not, I hope Mr. Palladini will jump in and let me know that I have not summarized it sufficiently. But other than that, I can answer any questions that you might have. Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?

I'm very excited about the project. Seems pretty straightforward, but any causes, concerns, thoughts?

No?

Rory, did you want to add anything? I know you came all the way. You don't have to, but I always feel bad when people show up. I just wanted to convey the excitement. Yeah, just for the recording perspective. And thank you for being here.

My pleasure, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. I'm Rory Juneman. I'm a land use attorney in Tucson, but we represent ACNC. I just wanted to convey, they couldn't be here tonight, but I wanted to convey how excited they are about this project. They've just engaged an architect starting the planning process, and the architect will take it all the way through to plans. yeah they're just very excited and we really thank you for all your your your support and thank mr. Dilley and his staff have been just awesome to work with that's the way we roll around here we try to thank you if anybody doesn't have any questions I'll understand a motion at this time we're trying to match the timeline with ACNC as much as possible

I'll jump in on that a little bit, Nate. So we are in the process of, we've got the 30% plans done. That's what helped us get the design plans done. That's what helped us get some good cost estimates on this project. We are currently engaged with our consultant to finalize those plans. I don't think we expect final plans until first quarter of 27. And again, that's lining up really nicely with the timeline that ACNC and the county's project is indicating. So we think we're doing well there. We are in constant update and conversation with the school district who has committed to be a financial partner with us on that first leg of this project from Salwarita Road up to the roundabout and to include a cost share on the roundabout itself. So we're optimistic that things are going really well actually. And the school district seems to be really excited about the improvements to the circulation. Roundabouts are gonna be great. A roundabout in that area is gonna be great in terms of accommodating the kind of traffic that hits Walden Grove. We're also very optimistic that we're going to be able to, through both the county's project and this project, introduce a solid emergency access alternative to the high school as well as to the zoo in working with the county and them working with us. All the way around the conversation, we have monthly meetings with stakeholders between the county staff, zoo staff, and the town on just update and reports and making sure that we're continuing to move forward. So all things are tracking pretty well right now.

And the 30% design allows us to hone in on the cost a little bit when we go to Congress, our congressional delegation, right?

Yeah, it was a very important step, and we gave ourselves to August to get those 30% plans done, and we met that timeline, and we've shared that information with our stakeholders. So, you know, I think things are going well. Yeah. Thanks.

Mr. Mayor? Yes. I move to adopt ordinance number 2026-202. I second.

We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. It's a little after 8. I always promise at least to ask the council. We have like three more items to go. So if you want to take... Well, she's going to take... You want to take five or you want me to keep... you're good you're good you guys okay we'll keep going I just wanted to make sure I promised as close to eight at least offer madam clerk on him 12b discussion and possible adoption of resolution number 2026 dash 088 for regarding cost of living adjustment process for mayor and council compensation Thank you. And Ms. Carey, Talia Carey, our Human Resources Director, is busy tonight working with us. I am. So are you all. Thanks for being here. Thank you. And please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the council, staff, and attendees. Thank you for being here tonight.

Today I am presenting...

The cost of living adjustment resolution number 2026-0884, which establishes a clear and legally compliant process for how COLAs could be applied to mayor and council's compensation. So the purpose of this resolution is to formalize a predictable and legally compliant process for applying COLAs to elected official stipends whenever a COLA is approved for town staff through the annual budget process. So why is the resolution important? It's important due to Town Code, obviously, Section 2.05120, which states that compensation must be taken effect after the canvas of a next election. So in simple terms, any changes to compensation cannot be applied midterm. This resolution ensures full compliance with that requirement. It also ensures that elected officials' stipends stay aligned with COLA processes for other town employees when they are approved, and it creates a transparent and predictable process tied directly to our annual budget cycle. Also, it reinforces consistency and fairness by aligning elected officials' COLAs with those that are approved for our town employees. And overall, it strengthens transparency, equity, and clarity in our compensation processes. Of note, COLAs must be adopted through the annual budget process. There is no separate or mid-year action for elected officials. Second, because of the timing of the election cycles, COLAs approved in odd-numbered years would carry forward and combined with COLAs approved in the subsequent even-numbered election years, which would result in a compounding effect. And finally, combined COLAs take effect only after the canvas of town election, as previously mentioned. This ensures the town remains fully compliant with town code and avoids any midterm changes to compensation. So where does this come into place with our strategic alignment, with our strategic plan? This targets our under highly performing organization as it strengthens our governance practices, increases transparency, and supports predictable compensation methods, and also ensures COLAs for elected officials remain aligned with COLAs when approved for town employees. It also hits community well-being. The resolution promotes public trust by ensuring compensation practices are clear, they're rule-based, and they're compliant with statutory and budgetary requirements. Financially, our elected officials' COLAs, if approved, are funded or would be funded through the general fund consistent with our employees' COLAs when they are approved. Because COLAs must already be approved through the annual budget process, this resolution does not create any additional fiscal actions outside of our regular cycle. And operationally, the resolution establishes a consistent and predictable timeline for compensation adjustments. This simplifies administration and supports long-term planning for both human resources and finance staff. So with that, staff recommends adoption of resolution number 2026-0884. I just want to say that adopting the resolution would ensure that any future COLAs for elected officials are applied fairly consistently and in full compliance with town code and election requirements. I'm happy to answer any questions before council proceeds.

Any questions for Talia? No, I don't. Oh, I'm sorry. Ed.

Okay. The funds for this COLA, I understand they come from the general fund. Are there other areas that we could use it for other than COLA for us?

Are there other areas that the funds could be used for?

Yes.

I would assume so. I'm going to speak to maybe AC for a rescue here.

OK, AC, you're on time.

Sorry, AC.

Go ahead, AC.

You know, it's September, you know, finance week, so you've got to earn your pay.

Good evening. Mr. Mayor, members of the council, yes, obviously, if the money's not allocated to, I mean, this is true of anything in the budget, right? If it's not allocated to any specific spend, then it's available for something else.

And as you've always preached to us, the general fund is the most flexible of all of our funds. That's correct. Correct. Yes. Thank you.

I know that the staff works very hard. And to be honest with you, I'd rather see the staff and the SPD get more raised than we do. That's my own opinion. Absolutely.

Mr. Mayor? Yes. Does anybody else have any more questions?

No.

So having been on the council for 17 and almost half years, we've only raised the council salary once in 17 and a half years. And what's difficult is by that time, it was like, and when we're talking a bigger chunk, we went from like 400 to 800, just to let you know, a month. that's not a week that was a month so but it was a big chunk when comparatively speaking and so what I like about this is that allows us to stay keep the council's along with everything else just within like nope I don't think of it as looking at it's like a pay raise I think it is just so that you're staying with it so it's not gonna be a big jump fifteen and a half years when you guys decide to do it again That's why I'm in favor. So with that, I move to adopt Resolution 2026-0884. I second.

We have a motion to second. Any further discussion? All those in favor, signify by aye. Aye. Any opposed? Aye. One opposed. Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, 13A, please.

Mr. Mayor, if I may go back to the previous item, just for clarifying purposes, to clarify for the record. I believe the motion was to adopt an ordinance, and that was an incorrect motion. That's our fault. My apologies. But we did intend to adopt the IDA, correct?

Yes.

Yes. Thank you so much.

Okay. And for the motioner and the seconder? That works. That works? Okay. Thank you. Just for the record. Now 13A.

13A is a study session regarding parks and recreation, cost recovery, philosophy, and fee setting considerations.

Thank you. And Mr. Stoller, our park and rec director, will introduce this item.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. I appreciate the time tonight. So just a little bit of background. We had presented this item as a topic for a future item back when we had our, I believe, our budget retreat in April with the council. And council directed staff to start looking at this and prepare an item. So tonight is a study session to try to get some feedback from the council before we put together, ideally, an ordinance for potentially a future adoption. We have presented this item to our Parks and Rec Commission. I briefed members of the commission, and you're aware our chair, Thomas, is here to provide some feedback as well, representing the commission. But what I've shared is we've advanced it just a little bit from their feedback to get to the point tonight. So it is a study session. We're asking for feedback, some comments before we go through preparing materials for the council's consideration. so before i jump to the next slide i will share last week i'm going to call out shane we were talking about this item and i started to have this kind of global realization that cost recovery is a really complicated thing we get caught up in the philosophy we get caught up in the percentages and really tonight what we're going to be talking about is the philosophy itself And when I was wrestling with this, Shane said, define the problem. And it really helped me to put together this first handcrafted by me, not by AI, infographic. So defining the challenge. so right now um without a clear path a clear cost recovery our path our cost recovery philosophy our path to cost recovery is dark and so i tried to come up with an analogy and put it together to make this make sense right now staff are shooting a bit in the dark without a guiding philosophy adopted by council to help us come to you with more prepared fees recommendations So right now, without an adopted philosophy, it's kind of like we're trying to shoot at a target in the dark with the lights off. We are doing self-created pricing strategy. And again, let me caveat this with these items are still coming in ahead of you, but it's like trying to hit your target in the dark. These items are self-created with pricing strategy. We do, I will say maybe one layer to the analogy is we might have a small lighter when we have our comments with council, with our ongoing budget retreats, our banter back and forth. We start to learn a bit of the will of the council. So it's not completely dark, but we rely on ongoing council comments to help us determine what is the right recommendation for fee setting when we go through this. And ultimately, it misaligns our target. We don't know really what we're shooting at. We're doing the best to make professional judgment, look at the market, look at our competitors when we're recommending fees. With an adopted philosophy, it'll be a council-approved direction. It establishes shared principles and priorities for us to recommend an initial fee to the council. It also creates clear pricing framework by providing a consistent approach to evaluating individual pricing decisions. And a big piece here is the transparent recommendations. It explains the rationale behind each pricing decision. So it's totally above board why we're recommending fees the way we are. So a cost recovery philosophy does not predetermine every fee. It just gives staff a visible target and council approved direction for developing better informed pricing recommendations. So the cost recovery philosophy versus individual fee targets. So the philosophy sets the direction, not the percentage. A philosophy should establish the principles staff use to evaluate fees, including community benefit versus individual benefit, affordability and accessibility, program costs and sustainability, market conditions and demand, and council priorities. And you may remember when we were at the retreat, we had those big infographics, the items that may be considered. This is really a description of those things. What are the different categories that Parks and Rec serves, and how should we consider them when recommending fees to council? So percentages are determined fee by fee. And this is where I started to wrestle. When we talk about philosophy, it's kind of the starting point for the department to put together a recommended fee set to council. When we come to you, and I'll share in a moment what that oversight process looks like, that's where we'll have the discussion individually fee to fee and start to determine what the appropriate cost or cover is. And then just as I like each service, the reason why each service has different costs, users, benefits and policy considerations. Therefore, the appropriate cost recovery percentage should be evaluated when each fee is reviewed, not embedded as one universal target in the philosophy. So here's what the recommended fee oversight process would look like. This is tonight. We're hoping to get some feedback on the council's direction to adopt a cost recovery philosophy. This will ultimately establish principles for community benefit, affordability, sustainability, and the council's priorities. When it's adopted, when we have a philosophy, staff will be developing recommendations. We'll evaluate each fee individually. analyze the service costs, users, the benefits, access considerations. Then as the step three would be the council oversight. This is where we would come back and I didn't put commission here, but it would be commission and council oversight where both bodies would be reviewing our fees before they go into adoption and considering the recommendations by staff, providing policy direction and approving or adjusting individual fees as we present those to both bodies. So the philosophy establishes how to aim. It really turns the lights on. Each individual fee determines the appropriate target. So you may remember this infographic we presented at retreat. Ultimately, what we'd like to do is create a process that staff can rely on in a routine pattern annually. So this becomes very familiar with us so that we can appropriately come to commission and to counsel with fee recommendations. The first step, and this is actually required by state statute, is a fee review and data collection. We're anticipating that to occur in the fall annually, where staff would identify fees, especially the ones that maybe we've had cost go crazy on us and we have to do a review. And we'd look at the data, we'd present the data, get the data to understand, do we truly need to revisit those fees? This would also occur for new fee recommendations. If we have big stakeholders that would be impacted, like the RSOs when we do field changes, we would present those fee changes to them before we come to our governing bodies to get their feedback, how it would impact and make changes before we come to the governing boards. Devin, on the first one, sorry. Absolutely.

Would data collection and review also look at some of our comparative communities? Yes. Because it wouldn't only be, you know, is fertilizer going up, for instance, but how we are aligning or better than or...

Excellent question. So that would be a fee-setting consideration, and that's one of the items I'm going to be asking for council feedback on tonight. So if the council would like that in the consideration, then yes, absolutely. And I think we have a pretty encompassing list that we'll share with you in a moment. Okay, thanks. So the intention would be that in January, we'd be visiting our boards and commissions with that fee recommendation, the data behind it, and if we have a big stakeholder we needed to present to, we should have the total package presentable to our commission in January. We'll take their feedback, make adjustments. If they tell us no go, we'll probably not move forward. But if it's a thumbs up with adjustments, we'll plan at our spring planning retreat to present those recommendations to council. Use the time between that and the budget retreat to refine and prepare. But ultimately, we'd be having a master fee adopted via resolution alongside the town budget on an annual basis. So this would give us an annual rotation revisiting this and making presentable to the council our fee recommendations. so the purpose and desired outcomes of tonight the discussion tonight is about the philosophy that should guide future fee recommendations not the adoption of specific fees or cost recovery percentages because again those will live with individual fees as we bring them to council in presentation Our desired outcomes is we'd like to have some feedback on the pricing authority, and I'll explain that in a minute. Feedback on the fee setting considerations that we've prepared. And then we'd like your direction on the next steps. Do we try to go into ordinance development, or do we come back in another study session with more feedback? The first item, proposed ordinance structure. I know this is a lot. I've spent way too much time in Title 12 and Title 3, Revenue and Finance Title 3, and Parks and Recreation Title 12. And what I found was there's a lot of information in a lot of different places. Right now in Title 3, we have our fees for parks and recreation. In Title 12, in different areas, we have different oversights, guidance to the department. What we're trying to do is kind of consolidate that and adopt one, you know, master cost recovery philosophy. So right now in current structure, the fee adoption is codified and changed by ordinance. We talked about this previously. I think this is where we have, you know, 13 years between recommendations because things get lost. We're not doing it annually. The proposed structure would have a master fee schedule presented to the commission to council on an annual rotation and adopted via resolution with the annual budget. The administrative authority. So right now, the pricing authority. So this is kind of where we start to get complicated. State statute gives, so if the council supports it, the ability for the department to set fees on registration-based programs. And the council has essentially everything else, field fees, reservations, remodels. But that authority is a bit dispersed through Title 12 right now. And so what we're going to clarify is the director may set registration-based program fees within the defined policy limits. So considering the considerations we're going to be presenting in a moment and all the guidance for tracking, measuring, having the right oversight. The discounts and waivers, authority and accountability requirements are not consolidated. They're in a couple of different places. What we're going to clarify is the director may approve exemptions under established criteria. An example of this would be the Santa Rita, sorry, the Santa Cruz Valley Car Nuts Car Show. Right now, we have a $10,000 sponsorship to support them annually, but they still pay fees to rent the fields. Under new guidance, if we have an established partnership, we would be able to waive those fees without having to come to council and ask for that every time. So the performance reporting, and there's a catch to that, so I'm coming to that. There's no unified reporting framework, and what we're recommending is regular reporting that covers our revenues, our costs, recovery levels, participation, utilization, and discounts. And specifically the discounts is where we would be upfront about where we've partnered and we've weighed those fees so that we have oversight if there's questions about those. And then ultimately, the council oversight. Right now, council primarily reviews individual fees amendments. So when we come to you with a new ordinance, a new fee set, they're individually reviewed. This change would have council set a policy, the philosophy, and approve the master fee schedule annually through the budget process, and also evaluate our ongoing performance. So we would present our performance to you more regularly in that fee setting. So, a lot of information here, but the first piece of council feedback we're asking for is if this proposed structure defines authority while maintaining appropriate council oversight. And I will add, commission will always be the first stop. I didn't get that in here.

Yeah, if it's okay, I had a couple thoughts. You know, as well... First of all, if we're using the commission, you know, to the best of their ability, because I'd want them weighing in first. What I'd want to avoid is, you know, like Copper Hills Little League or, you know, one-off RSO, you know, coming to us, right, when we're enacting it that night. So anyway, we can... i think uh avoid that maybe we can't you know i mean some people will never want a fee ever to go up right um so that's that's that's difficult um so for me if a really good structure is in place where commission you know they've had one two three you know cracks at it um before you know it would come to us i'm probably i'm probably a little more comfortable with that philosophy Without that, I'd want to be the last stop. And back to the reporting, right? I'm just a little fearful if we're operating in a council vacuum and then we get hit and all the... 49ers show up on one night, right? Which they've done before. So I guess, I don't know if it's making a lot of sense.

Yeah, it makes total sense. And if I can comment back on that. First and foremost, I think one of the challenges we have is we don't have this as a routine process where our staff are very familiar with the annual budget. We're reviewing fees annually, making recommendations to our commission, having that back and forth before we come with a prepared budget. set of fees and a recommendation from our commission to council. Our desire is to have that process a little bit more baked, if you will, and something that we're flexing our muscles on annually, getting the experience. But second to that, our intention is to be transparent. We don't want anything to surprise the council or our commission when fee sets come forward. um but there's going to be tough times where you know a cost if gas doubles it's going to impact us and so that data collection piece should allow us to be much more upfront as to why we're doing what we're doing and i was talking with our chair thomas earlier one of the things that i think is important is having that philosophy outlined Gives a tool to the public to understand. Why do we set fees the way we do? Well, you know, there's a philosophy that tells us how we should do it and we're all working on that same, you know Ruler if you will to get the same measurements, right?

Yes We've we've grown a lot over the last couple of years as we've tried to wrestle with these these these fees, right and what Devon is presenting to the council tonight is a is a Proposal a path forward that through the use the greater use of of your commission and and through Devon's leadership with parks and rec and a commitment to be more engaging with our our our stakeholders our goal isn't that at every fee adjustment that you face, everybody's gonna be singing Kumbaya. Our goal is that everybody is going to be engaged and will understand the why behind what's being presented to the commission and to the council. And then at least it won't be a shock. At least it won't be because we've engaged them, we've talked to them, we've tried to hear them and understand their needs and present. Maybe it's a tiered approach to this fee increase. Maybe it's a reduction in what we had originally thought. But at least there's that dialogue and conversation that happens so that we don't have a repeat of what we experienced a couple years ago.

And is this part of it only about the ordinance structure? Because, you know, I had thoughts on, you know, if they're for-profit club teams, that's a different price point than a fee schedule than if they're the Copper Hills Little League, for instance, and those types of things. Will that be part of tonight or in a different place?

That's the second question I'm going to be asking, if we could. Hold for a moment. I'd like to see if there's no questions from the council just yet. I told our chair, Thomas, that I'd bring her up to share her feedback. Absolutely. That was my next ask.

Yeah. Absolutely.

So I appreciate that you're going to get the commissioners more involved, because in the past, I don't think they have been as involved as they should have been. I've asked my commissioners on other things, and they had no clue. It sounds like they're being advised. and not being advisors. So I think getting them more involved to be advisors, because they're there for us, basically, for us council members. So if I have questions, they should be able to answer my questions, whether it's fees or conditions or whatever. They should know what's going on all the time. The whole fee thing sucks. I'm sorry to say that, but it does, because I just had a 10-year-old kid yesterday approach me and say, he came up with this idea, talked to his parents, and his parents said, go talk to Debbie Morales. And he wants to do a whiffle ball, start whiffle ball to recover fees for the kids that can't afford to play baseball. I talked to my daughter-in-law today, I found out that they put my grandson in the baseball, is it Copperview? This season, and she said, there's not a lot of kids. And I don't know if that's because the fees went up. They can't even get coaches. And I don't know if that's because the fees went up or what the issue is. But I think working together with the commissioners is the right way to go.

Yeah, I agree with you. And one of the things that, you know, as I was going through this, I was learning a lot as well, getting a little bit more curious and answering questions. One of the things that I think will be powerful if we can get to the point where we have an adopted philosophy is there'll be the same playbook that is, you know, ultimately adopted by council that staff, commission, and council are all working from. I think that what that will do is make our conversations much more powerful when we're in the commission setting seeking that advice. Because right now without that directive from council in an adopted fashion, in a formal fashion, we're working off of our expert opinions you know the market what are other municipalities doing personal feelings and i think that this is going to be an important step so that we have that you know it's not going to i think i didn't say it in the slide with the targets we're probably not going to hit a bullseye at every time but we should at least hit the target and then the next shot we should get closer right but having that light on where we know the will of the council will help staff to come more prepared with a recommendation and work with our commission before we come to council i appreciate that yeah absolutely any other thoughts before we bring aaron up okay aaron chair thomas come on tell us how maybe the commission wrestles with it how they feel

Yeah, and you know what, this is actually I'm very thankful for that rate for your comment about that because it is it's in the past it has felt like we didn't say as much and we're in the community with with a lot of different clubs. And I know Grace, she's with, you know, with baseball. And so we, as a commission, we are in a lot of different areas. We kind of have our little niche and it really have being part of the Parks and Rec, the fees were all part of, each of those areas. So I feel like we do have a lot of knowledge. We speak to a lot of people. And, you know, when you're talking about the 10 year old, I mean, having an opportunity to have a scholarship if they need that or having we talked about sliding scales as well. We talked about the tier approach, like looking at how certain people can afford in certain tax brackets can afford a certain amount to pay for fees. So it can be very complex, but I think if we don't tackle this, then it can cause a lot of issues later on. So we're not just looking at Right now, we're looking, okay, here's now two years, five years, 20 years from now, we need to have something set because when people come to me and ask me, oh, well, why is it so expensive to do Copper Hills Little League? but then we can do this program and it's not as expensive. So I think having the answers that we as commissioners can share with the residents, I think that will arm us because of course we are on social media as well And we see a lot and we discuss it, you know. And so that will allow us to be more knowledgeable, have like more footing, like stable footing to be able to give um answers and so we want to make sure too that our answers are consistent with town council and parks and rec and that it's affordable that we're being transparent because if we're not transparent then it can cause a lot of issues as well that we have measurable outcomes and doing evaluations on that yearly basis is this working is not working and we can tweak you know the areas that need to be you know if we need to raise some cost or lower cost and why isn't it not working so having an evaluation and taking that data on it you know ongoing basis is going to be pertinent to being able and then being able to report to mayor and council i think is going to be very helpful and for honestly for us to be out there and be talking to people and to be getting that input we need to know what to actually ask people and um in order to be able to do this successfully as well so i was saying to devin maybe having a little checklist okay is this you know, in this area, this program, what should we be looking for? What questions should we be asking? You know, and so that's if I, if we're, if there's like club spike or, you know, if we're, if I'm there, like what kind of questions can I ask? in order to get the data to share with Devin and the staff. And how much should fees vary? Also looking at residents versus non-residents. So should it be, some people say 15% more, other people say 50% more. If we have a baseball team coming in and wanting to use our fields, how much should we be charging them? our residents are first you know we want to make sure that our residents have um you know what they need but then we also want to bring people from other communities to come and bring tourism and dollars to our restaurants and so when we had our commission meeting last month we discussed all of these points because we're out there in the community and we're asking a lot of questions. So as a commission, we wanna make sure that we're involved. This particular fee schedule helps us to become more involved. So whether we have workshops or events like tournaments, that type of thing. So it'll help us with present and then future outcomes. So yeah.

For me, if you're the first line of defense, so to speak, and offense, it gives me a lot more comfort, personally, because you are, and you do have, the reason you guys serve is because you have that connectivity, right? Right. Either through your children or other children.

and really are the ears on the ground for us and the eyes so I yeah I really do appreciate us being able to be in an advisory commission I know shells here too and so in and we've been doing this for a while And it's good that we can step up and we can serve our community in the way that, you know, to help our community grow and to be a happier community as well.

But it just gives me comfort that if you're getting it, you know, and you've done that due diligence, I wouldn't be as worried. Because, again, we're never going to please 100% of the people 100% of the time. Right. But if we are on a yearly basis and we're comparing it to comparative communities as well as our own cost structure, right, you know, fertilizer, labor, whatever it might be. And if we do it on a regular basis with good communication, I think that gets us, you know, 90 plus percent of the way there.

Right. I know like Devin and like I when I see things come up, I will text them, hey, this is what's happening. And just so that we have that direct line of communication is really important, like whether it's social media questions so that they know. But having this framework where we can look at cost recovery. Right. so we're not we we still need to make money right you know it's not a free society you know but I think so we know participation we know who's utilizing and and who needs scholarships and I think I I would say that it's a really important thing for transparency as well so

thank you so real quick just so all these points I think are my next slide so no or we're trying to help you by you know this is this is wonderful I'm like tickled with this conversation so real quick though as a check-in this this slide is oversight right so these are the control mechanisms to our cost recovery philosophy and We haven't finalized an ordinance. We're drafting, trying to get kind of ahead of the eight ball. But my question is, is there feedback specifically on the oversight so I can jump into considerations?

Get ahead. Everybody okay? Now remember, anything we do can always be adjusted, can always be looked at. If whatever reason, all the due diligence, you know, we muffed a little bit in one area, but we have to start somewhere.

I'm confident with the commissioners being our first line of offense. I'm a defensive coach, but I understand that you have to have an offense. You're right there with the people who are going to be using it, the different organizations. So I'm real confident with the commission. Yeah. I think that's a check.

Thumbs up on this one.

Okay.

Yeah.

So second lift. Oh, yeah.

Oh, sorry. Go ahead.

I agree with all of you.

Okay, good. That's two thumbs up. Hey, we're 50% of the way there. I appreciate it. And so thank you for your candid feedback. So the second item is fee consideration. So we were alluding to this a little bit. The way I like to think about this is this is the first hopper for Parks and Rec. As staff, when we're identifying fees that need to be adjusted or we have a new fee that we're going to recommend to the commission and council, this would be the first hopper that gets us closer to hitting the target with the council and with the commission. So we've taken the feedback from our retreat in April. We've also presented this to the commission. I will highlight the one item that we were asked to expand on was addressing the accessibility and participation as barriers to our disabled populations. I took it one step further and we've opened that up to addressing accessibility and participation barriers across the spectrum. But here's our five fee setting considerations i will caveat this with not every fee consideration will be qualified some some because programs and you know different fees for ramadas and fields may not touch every single category the idea will be this will be a good guide for the staff to present a starting point for a fee recommendation to commission and council but here's the hopper we would take it through first FIRST AND FOREMOST WOULD BE THE COST AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. WE WOULD CALCULATE THE FULL COST OF SERVICE AND ACCOUNT FOR INFLATION AND LABOR. I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT INFLATION A LOT. UTILITY, EQUIPMENT, MAINTENANCE, CONTRACTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE COLLECTION AND OPERATING COSTS OF THE PROGRAM OR FEE. We would consider the community access and public benefit, keep fees reasonable and affordable. So we don't want to charge a million dollars to come to club spike. Well, camp Saudi to now, um, we want to address accessibility and participation barriers, use lawful discounts, scholarships, partnerships, or subsidies when needed and protect access to youth introductory essential and broadly beneficial services. I want to stop there for a second because you saw on the slide before the director's ability to waive fees for partnerships of the programs. This would be the check-in, lawful discounts, scholarships, partnerships, and subsidies. We've talked a lot about sliding fee scales and discount programs based on income levels. This would be the ability for staff to be able to come up with those ideas and bring them forward to the commission and council for consideration. Great. The residency and service priorities. This was a big item that came up in our council retreat. Recognize resident taxpayer support. Prioritize resident access when capacity is limited. Use reasonable resident non-resident pricing or registration differentials and apply residency classifications when warranted. So, complexity. Not every program would require a resident-on-resident rate. Some would. I've had some conversations with my counterparts in Marana and the city of Tucson. They're doing standardized non-resident fees, 25% in Marana as an addition, as an inflation to their fees. The city of Tucson, I believe, is at 50%. They're moving to 50% now.

On recovery?

No. So they're inflating their fees for non-resident. Oh, I see. 25, 50%. So if it's $5 for a resident, it would be $7.50 in Marana. Or what? $6.25 in Marana and $7.50 in the city of Tucson. But this would allow us to make those recommendations in a fashion that is annual or repeatable to the commission and council. The market demand and utilization, we would use regional rates as a reference, not the sole determinant. Consider demand, capacity, waitlist, peak use periods, utilization, and the efficient use of town resources. Lastly, service condition and other factors reflect facility condition, staffing, safety, service quality, operation complexity, level of service, and other factors consistent with the town's public purposes. Put level of service in there for Shane. He's been wanting that for a little bit. So anyways, little poke. But the big one here that would be important for us is I think the facility conditions. We're talking about we just did a fee for fields, right, an increase. What if we introduced a brand new field and it was MLB quality? Would we charge the same rates for that even though the cost is much higher as a new facility compared to Animax, which is a more aged facility? So these are our five fee setting considerations, the first hopper that staff would go through before presenting recommendations to our commission and council. So the council feedback, are these the right considerations to guide future fee recommendations from staff?

Depends. No. That's actually the perfect answer. It depends. I mean, I think of all the things you touched on, it goes through my mind, residents, you know, non-residents. If you had a set-aside field, right, you know, for competitions, you know, if Parcel 30, you know, moves forward and, you know, that... you're if you're getting more you would I would expect to pay more right and it wouldn't be at the same level as a multi-use field you know would be in my mind right but you know how do you make it I mean my thought is you make it as affordable as you possibly can so nobody for the most part is left out I love the idea of having scholarships or ways you know using some of the sponsorship money maybe they'd be really motivated to be a sponsor if it could be in the you know used in a way for scholarships right yeah schools worked on that for years for pima community college right if you're not a pell grant person or if you're not a um on a scholarship you know that the middle gets missed right and so they've looked at ways to providing education so if we can kind of model that on weight making sure everybody has the ability to participate to the best of our ability that's why I said depends on there but those are I think you covered for me you covered a lot of a lot of the areas on there but that's just me any thoughts from my colleagues yes

yeah i really appreciate everything on that screen and i especially like that the oops sorry okay i especially like that um regional rates are not the sole determinant there there have been times where i felt like we were too heavy in that regard and i love thank you for serving and the commission and having you guys as our front line and the wiggle room to be compassionate when a circumstance like what Debbie was talking about presents itself that we have this seems to allow flexibility to be adaptive to all considerations and to be compassionate about things. And I also like the idea of empowering you, Devin, as the director, to have some authority to make executive decisions within parameters.

I appreciate that.

Yes.

You know, I thought about the Santa Cruz Cardinals as, you know, that example that they provide, you know, the bodies for the most part, right? 90% of it. That's a lot. And not because of some arbitrary ordinance or code. We have to charge you for that when it's a community benefit. They give all the money away. To Diane's point, having you have that ability to make some pretty low-level common sense decisions, I would certainly support it.

Yeah, and I would just second that. The ideal situation that we're doing here is that we would still bake in that oversight. So you would see the cost of those partnerships. And if you had questions, we would have the data to report back on it. And if there was anything that wasn't aligning with the commissions and councils' philosophy guidance, we would make adjustments as necessary.

Right. I mean, I think Aaron said it. I wish we could do everything for free. Yeah. But we can't, right? And they just have to understand it at the end of the way, at the end of the day. But we certainly want to be one of the most competitive in our region.

I will share, and maybe I'm a little biased on this. If we were to get to the end of the road and adopt an ordinance with this being the guidance of the philosophy, we would be ahead of the pack with a very advanced cost recovery philosophy living in an ordinance. So we, your staff, are really excited about this potential. Any comments, Chair Thomas?

No, I'm actually... I'm very excited about this moving forward because I think that it'll open up access to a lot of different people. I think we'll be taking into consideration the situations of the residents in our town. And I think there'll be a lot more conversation and positive conversations that can go. And we're opening it up to the community to get their input. And so I believe that will open up discussions that are going to be good for our community to see what they need and not just what But just the people that are here, it'll open it up to everybody. And I think the Parks and Rec is moving into that direction now that we have more adaptive sports. And we're thinking about more people in general of all ages. And I think that will be stronger together if we, you know, and it'll be a happier place in our town if we can take all of this into consideration.

Yeah. To me, I go back to the Onza Trail playground improvements, right? If that's kind of the direction that we go on all of this, you know, that we're moving in the right direction, in my opinion.

Yeah, and even thinking about the broader spectrum, about what does our town represent? I mean, for me, I want, you know, our town to represent people that are kind, compassionate, that want to be here, that want to live here, that take people's situations into consideration, and that we're forward-thinking, and we're, like, progressive, and, you know, that we... you know that we're we include everybody right so in my perspective you know I'm sure my the other the commissioners as well that I know that you know that they they feel you know the same way so right yeah thank you yeah of course okay last check-in for feedback on the slide

Okay. Well, thank you. Okay, so last item. I'm going to guess we're leaning to yes, but I'm going to need a thumbs up. But the council direction requested, so should staff prepare a draft ordinance amending Title III revenue and finance and Title XII parks and recreation? If yes, you direct us to prepare an ordinance or the feedback is to prepare the ordinance. At the next meeting, staff will present the draft ordinance for review. We would show you how the philosophy informs pricing in some situations for the items that would be council directive versus those registration-based programs at the director level. We would compare council-established and director-established fees. Sorry, got ahead of myself there. And then we would request further direction before adoption. If not yet, further refinement. We would incorporate the feedback of council, present revisions to the proposed framework, and confirm direction before drafting an ordinance in a future study session.

Go ahead.

Do you have enough time to get the feedback from the commission to help you formulate the ordinance?

We could. Yes, we could absolutely do that. We've gotten their guidance out of the study session. But if you would like us to put the draft ordinance in front of them, we could absolutely do that.

Yeah, I would, me personally, I'd be more comfortable with a two-step process. I think I'd want to see something first and then have everybody kind of weigh in, especially since it's kind of taken us so long to make sure we get it right the first time.

SO YES, BUT LET'S CHECK IN WITH THE COMMISSION FIRST ON THE ORDINANCE. YES. OKAY. WE CAN DO THAT. ABSOLUTELY. I WILL ALSO SHARE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO PURSUE BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR IS THIS PHILOSOPHY ADOPTION SO THAT WE CAN BE PREPARED TO WORK THE NEW SYSTEM FOR THIS UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE. SO THE TIMING IS PERFECT. WE CAN ABSOLUTELY GET IN FRONT OF COMMISSION.

institute the fees you know that there was some time for them to absorb it yes you know so i do like that phase in if that's one of the other philosophies i i thought that was you know a good kind of to you know ease into it so they you know they have time to talk to the parents and get them prepared yes we can make sure that we're addressing those impacts and that philosophy

When is your next commission meeting?

Oh, man. OK. You're testing me. Our next commission meeting, we're going to have a special meeting on September 23. And then our next regular meeting is October 14. So Wednesday and a Wednesday, I believe. OK. 23rd to 14. And if all plays out well, we'll try to get this in front of them in October. Yeah. That would seem reasonable. Yeah.

That would be good.

Sounds good. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for the time and effort. Absolutely.

Thanks, Chair Thomas, for being here. Isn't she awesome? She's always been awesome. That's the member that got her on the commission. She should totally be thanked. Twice. Three times. I agree. Madam Clerk, item number 13B.

Study session regarding a town code amendment about recreational vehicle parking, storage, and temporary occupancy.

Thank you. Orlanthia? Yep. Oh, I hadn't even seen you until I just looked over there. Orlanthia Henderson, our Planning Zoning Manager, will introduce this item, and then I'm going to turn it over to the Vice Mayor, and this is going to be her thing. Okay.

I vote no.

That's why I was turning it over to you.

Good evening, Mayor Murphy, Vice Mayor Egbert, and fellow council members. I am presenting study session information on a zoning code text amendment addressing parking and storage of private recreational vehicles. The project case number is SA8-25-00004. Some background on the text amendment. The RV section of the zoning code has been largely untouched since the town code was adopted. The code section has minimal standards. And in the past, this has created a challenge for staff when we receive code enforcement complaints or requests for interpretations. And I'll go into a little bit more in depth in the next few slides. The RV section was brought up during the temporary use permit text amendment. It was decided then that staff should look more into the RV section, and that's how the text amendment was initiated. To date prior to this meeting there were two opportunities to discuss the text amendment with the Planning Commission the study session With Commission was held December 1st of last year And prior to the study session there was conversation during the temporary use text amendment We recently had the public hearing with the Planning Commission on May 4th of this year So at the December 1st commission study session, the commission requested that staff separate rural zones and residential zones when addressing RV requirements. Rural zones are RH, or rural homestead, GR1, rural residential, and SR, suburban zones. Residential zones are R1 through R3, R4, R5, and MH, manufactured home. Rural zones were given less restriction and more flexibility, mostly due to lot size. The Planning Commission also simplified the prepping and cleaning standards for RVs, and this included allowing parking in the right-of-way with conditions. They also wanted a minimal zoning clearance application fee for occupied RVs. After the study session in December, the planning commission held a public hearing for the RV text amendment on May 4. The commission added a few changes to the text amendment at the public hearing. At that public hearing, we did not receive any comments from the public or any written comments beforehand. The first change that the commission added at the hearing was to allow two additional RVs to the rural zone properties. So currently, the code allows you one RV outright, with the option to add an additional RV with the Type 1 conditional use permit process. The commission thought that for rural zone properties or the larger parcels that they should have the ability to add two instead of just one. The change would then allow up to three RVs on site with an approved Type 1 CUP. The second change, During the discussion was that the RV storage shouldn't be non-commercial. They didn't want random RV parks to be created. So they put the condition on that if you are going to have RV stored on site on your property, that it be non-commercial. The Planning Commission forwarded a recommendation to town council to approve the text amendment with the changes. So here's a look at what we currently have in our code. We have three parts. An RV can be stored or parked in any rural or residential zone as long as it's located to the rear of the principal dwelling and parked within a garage, ramada, or behind vegetation of a sufficient height to shield it from view. One RV is permitted by right in any rural or residential property. The property owner can have one additional vehicle with an approved type 1 CUP. So as I mentioned earlier, when giving the background on the text amendment, the current RV code has limits. The requirements are vague and do not provide specifics for staff to reference when interpreting or facing the code enforcement complaints. Screening and placement of an RV does not address screening height or setbacks for an RV from a property line. As long as it's behind the primary dwelling, it's good. Screening requirements are vague in that it talks about a vegetation screen, but it doesn't tell you how high it should be. The requirements also do not address visitors with RVs or how an RV can be parked or prepped or when cleaning it. So prior to drafting the text amendment, staff researched neighboring jurisdictions and found limited information on RV storage and parking. Most jurisdictions do not allow occupied residential use or connection to utilities by the RV. The most comprehensive came from the city of Flagstaff. They allow RVs to be stored in any district, but it must be stored to the rear or interior side yard. The RV also cannot be occupied, and minimum parking standards must be maintained. So an outline of our proposal for the code section, we broke it into three sections, storage of RVs, occupied RVs, and the temporary prepping and cleaning of RVs. We've also incorporated the distinction between rural and residential zones. So the first section addresses the storage of RVs in residential zones. And residential zones are the smaller lots. So you have a square footage range for properties between 1,500 square feet to 36,000 square feet. And these zones include R1 through R5 and MH. Rural zones are 36,000 square feet to 180,000 square feet. So it kind of gives you a better idea of how much smaller. residential zones are. The existing code requires RVs to be located to the rear of the primary dwelling with a garage, ramada, or behind vegetative screening. The proposed changes are on the right. we're requiring a primary residential dwelling. The reason behind that is because we have had RVers ask if they can park it on a vacant piece of property. It's difficult with our current code to say,

yes or no because it's not really specific so orlanthe i'm sorry so we're we're considering if they have a five acre parcel or a one acre parcel in town with no residential structure they can't park their rv on that property correct um even with the existing it it hints to it being located to the rear of a principal dwelling But what if they could screen it just as well or maybe even better in the middle of a one-acre or five-acre parcel? What would be the reasoning that we would prevent that?

Because then someone could probably put three or four up there and begin.

Well, we would be able to control, I think.

Because there's only one without a cup.

Right.

I see what you mean.

Mayor Murphy, let me just repeat the question. You are asking if a property owner has an acre, they want to store their RV there. Right. That's something that we would have to research and find if there are any existing ordinances or codes in maybe the state that allow that. We currently do not have or haven't had that request within the town.

That's because maybe they're doing it and aren't requesting it. I don't know. Yes, Shane.

So, Orlanthea, I think I'll jump on that and challenge staff a little bit more. I'm positive that that exists. and Well, I'm positive that it exists I'll just leave it at that But this is this I just remind the council this is our ordinance right so Regardless of whether staff is able to find an example out there in the state or not we need to do what is right for our community. And so what staff does is we go out and we look at, are there models out there? Are there examples out there? And how can we piece together a decent ordinance for you to consider? But even with that effort, if that ordinance isn't fitting what this community needs, that's what you guys need to do as council to modify it and mold it to what we need to do. Sorry, Shane.

I lean really heavily on personal property rights and the availability. If we can accomplish the same intent, like if it's okay to have it behind a house and it has to be screened and you can't see it, If there's not a house there, I don't know what the downside is.

Well, I can promise that you're going to have both responsible property owners and irresponsible property owners. So you might think, what's the harm in having a property owner that has an acre store an RV there? Well... you know, there could be a clear abusers of that as well. You know, maybe it's, maybe it's all of a sudden it's five RVs. Well, no, no, no. I'm just, I'm just saying that we just need to be careful about, about what we, I mean, we all always think of the best of, of intense, but there are, there are going to be property owners that, abuse that. And the why behind the ordinance, you know, why are we asking to make sure that an RV is behind a residence and screened. I mean, why is that? If nobody can see it from the road, why do they have to go through extra steps to screen? I mean, it's behind the house. So I mean, we just need to ask the why behind all of these things that we put in. And then I think we'll land on a good ordinance

Well, and I was thinking if you did have an acre lot, right, and you were going to build your own house or, you know, be the general contractor, you would live – You can live on it. You know.

Well, wait.

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, I'm just – that's kind of the thinking that I'm coming from. You know, I guess the why is a good example on why they could live there, you know, for six months. Why – They're trying to build their own home.

Can I ask counsel to clarify if this concern is

belongs to both residential and rural lots or is this something that you would want to see only on rural lots but you think that on a residential and residential zoning this would be appropriate yeah well from for me it was res excuse me rural because residential i mean most almost all of our property is within master plan so you're not going to put a i don't think a rv on there while they're

you know building the home but there's I would say there's several um um and uh near you there's several homes where they have RVs on their property um some of them have RV garages right and and we have one you know it's a pain when we have to when we're going somewhere having to take all our stuff to go load it and then having to clean it and then bring all of our stuff back and wash it and clean it and then take it back. It's just more convenient when we can put it in the street, because I don't have anywhere else to put it, to put it in the street and do the process while it's there at the house.

Right. I think that's going to be one of the ones coming up from unloading and loading. But I guess I was still just tripped over. I guess it's a question for everybody, though.

Yeah, Nathan, I would say that it's for rural. Because just because of the space that those lots have, that it should not impact neighbors close by. Because the fence lines, they have more space. That's just my...

But Shane has one, and he's not rural. Are you rural?

I'm an acre lot. He's an acre lot.

But that doesn't...

that doesn't consider him rural does it what would be I don't think your role what would be a one acre category like the you know off a lot can you out of the older community well Shane we're gonna tag-team this what would that be considered based on the code

So Mayor Murphy, council members, so I can grab the zoning for that. But just a little clarification on RVs used while constructing your home. That is permitted, and it's considered actually a new type 1 contemporary use permit. So that's allowed all the way up until you're done with construction. So we do have a process and that's separate from this. This is addressing the cleaning and prepping the neighbors or the family members that visit and have an RV and want to stay in their RV while they visit you.

mean yeah i mean but even that i'd have i'd struggle with because if i own an acre a lot and i've got my you know aunt and uncle coming and i own an rv and i can't park it on my one acre parcel you know for a weekend a week whatever i think it says 15 days

And Mayor Murphy, we will get into that as well.

Okay. Sorry to get stuck on.

Diane?

Right, yeah.

So the internet's going a little slow. Could you help me understand, I mean, what size residential zone lots are we talking about where an RV's going to fit behind the house? I mean, when I think residential lots, I'm thinking like Rancho Sahuarita, where you've got five-foot fences around the side of the house and then a little backyard.

But we have some larger lots. I mean, I know you have a pretty big fence line. You know, she could definitely fit.

But is it defined what size residential lot we're talking about? And then, you know...

Yeah, I think they had said 1,500 to 30,000. 36,000. 36,000 square feet. Now, 1,500 I felt was like, well, that is small.

So the distinction between residential and rural is the residential lot size is up to 36,000 square feet, so it's less than an acre. Oh, I see. That's actually a term. Everything above that is considered rural, and so the proposal or the thought process here is that you would treat the properties differently. The smaller lots would be more limited as to what you can do, and I think the proposal is one RV. by right if you can fit it and one with the use permit and then for rural it would be one rv by right and two with the use permit except for if there's no except for if there's no structure on there well yeah then it's zero right so that's the part i don't get i guess it's just on that one point so do you want do you want to be able to put the two there's no structure then let's do it i don't care about that I think the concern, and I remember this from Planning and Zoning Commission, is, you know, I think one of the commissioners saying, well, I've got an RV, and if my brother wants to park his RV there, he should be able to do that. And so it got kind of a slippery slope where it says noncommercial. But who's the wiser? You know, what if you say, hey, you can park your RV on my lot or store it on my lot for 200 bucks a month because it's cheaper than going to an RV storage place. And so it's almost impossible to enforce that because you could just do, you know, you could sell people money. Nobody's going to track it. So I think the concern was, and I could tell you that we have other clients where they have no limit for up to 10 days. And so there are sort of de facto RV lots where people go and park their RV for 10 days and there's no hookups, there's no electricity. Right, you dry camp. Yes, dry camping. So I think there are some sanitary concerns with that. But I think there's also a difference between storage and then living in them as well. So there's another sort of distinction there.

But I guess I worry that because someone may abuse it, we're not gonna allow the normal, so to speak, ability to do it.

Again, I think the distinction's gonna be between, And it's up to the council, ultimately. Shane's right. If you want to allow for up to three, whether it's a house or not, on the rural lots, the council can do that. And then the further distinction is going to be how long. That's just storage. People are just parking them there. Versus how long can somebody live in one other than... living on a lot that you're building a house on. If you have company, I think it was, is it 10 days now currently, or 15 that's allowed for one visitor? But again, you could, on a larger lot, you could allow two. I mean, it's really up to you. And it's not as much... Worst case scenario where people are abusing it, it's what the neighbors think about who's abusing it or not. And so these guys get a lot of complaints about it, and then they have no tools in the toolbox to enforce it. They can't do anything. So that, so the truck, I mean, I think the whole idea is, and that's the purpose of study session is to sort of make better the current code, because right now the code is very difficult to enforce.

Right. And Karen just brought up, you know, you could have, that's why you'd go through a CUP because then they would know the rules of the road. And then if they violated it, you know, they've been on notice, so to speak, Diane.

Yeah, I'm concerned about it. Do the RVs have to be functional or could it be a junked RV? I'm concerned about things looking like a junkyard. If you could put two or three RVs on a big lot, does it have to be a functional RV that you can, you know, drive off and use or is it some broken down heap that's on somebody's land? When does it cross the line into looking like a junkyard? And then also the concern about living in it and how many people, how many different people in an RV and how many people on a lot and all of that. Does it become a little compound then?

But, I mean, we don't regulate how many people live in a house. That's what I was thinking, too.

Well, again, there's a difference between if you have water and sewer and electrical versus dry camping. I mean, there is probably a sanitary concern. But, you know, I can tell you that that is a concern in other communities that have, you know, people have larger lots, acre to acres, and some people... hoard stuff in their backyards. And, you know, the neighbors complain and then, you know, the code enforcement goes out and tries to enforce and it's, you know, out of my cold dead hands kind of response. So, you know, the thing we're trying to do is simplify or clarify you know, the rules for RV parking or storage and living on lots, because right now it's vague at best.

Yeah. I mean, I guess, I don't know.

And remember, the current code is basically Pima County. And, of course, counties tend not to regulate land use as precisely as cities and towns do.

But taking that a step further, what if I had that one-acre lot and I could shield it and I wanted to go park 10 of my cars on there? Could I do that now?

Mayor Murphy, fellow council members, there have been cases where We aren't looking for code enforcement cases, but if you have a neighbor that complains, then we go out and take a look at it.

But is it legal to, if I had five cars on my empty lot, but if they complain, do we prevent it?

Well, most of the code enforcement cases are for vehicles that are not operating. So I guess we would look and see the check the condition of the vehicle. If they're all legally licensed, then you could have a family. that has 10 cars, I would think. But it largely depends on the condition and if your neighbors are OK with it. sorry to belabor I know we're only on the first bullet point but these are good questions I did pull up the zoning code the zoning map to kind of give you an idea these requirements wouldn't apply to the ranchos read a specific plan area because they have a different code The other two specific or the other specific plan areas, depending on whether or not they address the RV section, it could apply. But then they're also HOA. They also have their own HOA. So I think in some of those cases, the HOA already addresses RVs. It's a small area of town that I think this would apply to. You were talking about the difference between rural and residential. So rural is the dark green. OK. That's RH.

Could you show me La Cunada on that?

La Cunada is here.

OK.

So you have SR for suburban ranch. You have rural homestead and rural residential. So you have light green, dark green, and sort of the neon green. Those are considered rural zone.

Aren't the yellow some of those over acre lots, even though they are residential ones?

So residential one minimum lot sizes are 36,000 square feet. So they're right at that.

Yeah, that cusp.

It's sort of that meeting area between residential and rural zones. One acre is considered about 42,000 square feet. So they're just below an acre.

So you base an acreage off of raw square footage and not after setbacks and everything?

Correct.

OK. So if the council were to define in these codes 36,000 square feet as rural, then that might address some of the comments that these guys are having on the council for the purposes of this particular code. No, I'm asking.

What they were key with our code is you have 36,000 square feet in both rural and residential, but the code defines GR one. So the minimum lot area for GR one is 36,000 square feet, but it's also in residential for our one as a minimum as well. So

Right, so how would this RV ordinance apply to those lots that are 36,000 square feet?

They would be limited to two max, so one outright, one permitted with the type 1 CUP. But if they're in GR1 or the light green up there, they would allow up to three.

This is why we have study sessions.

Because you just went over that threshold, so you get an extra one.

If I'm hearing Shane correctly and the council correctly, the proposal, for lack of a better word, is to take the R1 zone out of the residential classification for purposes of the RV and classify it as a rural zone. So it has all the rural regulations for RVs in this particular regulation. We'll look into that. My initial thinking, though, is that we'd probably want to remove the label residential and rural to avoid conflation with other parts of the code that use that term. But there could probably be some distinction where the R1, RH, GR1, and SR zones have this collection of regulations, and then R2 and above would have this.

Yeah, to Shane's point, having 36,000 square feet and Sounds like three different potential areas. That just seems confusing.

So I'll have staff look into that and look at any other possible conflicts that would come out of that. But we will look into that.

And I guess, sorry to belabor the point, but if you can have two and then one just because you have a building on it, but you can't have any of them without the building, I'm still wrestling with that personally. But that's just me.

It's not just you.

Oh, okay.

Good.

But I think I hear the inflection in the conversation, I guess, if I put it that way. Nathan, if we can look at that in terms of for the purposes of the RV code, have those lots that are 36,000 square feet or more in one category versus the other, I think that makes sense. Okay. Thanks. Yep.

Yep.

I'm still not clear. Are we talking about functional RVs or are we talking about some broken down piece of, you know?

I would caution to be careful about that because one man's trash is another man's treasure. Right. Right. So you could have a broken down piece. hunk of junk and it's still functional, still drives, it could be a rust bucket and you don't really know.

But you use the functional and it still drives.

Right, but you don't know that. The problem is you don't know that by looking. So it becomes kind of a challenge for, I'm trying to just think, you know. How you implement this, you know, for code enforcement purposes, it's hard to know. And, you know, if you're going to store, let's say you're allowed up to three on a lot with or without a home, as long as it's 36,000 square feet or more, People are going to do mechanic work on it. Maybe. Like a boat. It's just going to be people could work on it.

Whatever that looks like. John, couldn't it be licensed or not licensed? If it's licensed, it doesn't matter if it's a 1994 or a 2019.

As long as the tags are up to date, I suppose you could have that as a condition.

Similar to a car.

Right. But it doesn't mean it necessarily runs.

If it's got wheels, doesn't it work for trailers?

Camper trailers? Why would it need to be up to registration if it's not moving? If it's there, permanent.

Well, it's a vehicle, so you still have to be registered, I think.

Yeah, your trailer has to be registered.

It's still a vehicle. It still needs to have license and tags. I mean, again, trying to implement this, trying to keep it simple, you know, having. tags current tags is an indicator that it's licensed and registered and and not abandoned or junk can't you do registered insured huh can you make it required to be insured kind of like we do for cars or was there again you know it's it's it's one of those things where you buy by observing you don't know if it's insured you don't know if it's running you know if somebody's doing work on it You know that and so it gets in the question of somebody's doing work on it and let's say they go out every weekend to their empty lot and they're working on their RV and so it looks like it's being torn apart. You know that becomes a question of. Appearance and so it's but it's again I I would from imprint implementation purposes code enforcement purposes you want to try and keep it as simple as possible so that. You know, how much can somebody work on their, going back to your question, Mayor, if somebody has five cars or, you know, 10 kids and 10 cars, it's got to be constantly somebody working on something. Right. You know, so what's the rule?

Some people have RVs that they just strictly live on them. They're not movable. They don't. That's a different animal.

That's not an RV then.

That's a different animal. That's what?

It's not an RV.

Yeah, you can have an RV and live in it and not move it.

But we addressed that when we talked about second homes. What are those little homes? ADUs. Thank you. We addressed that in the code during that.

Well, again, once you attach it or take the wheels off and attach it, then it becomes a different.

Well, you're not attaching it. It's just there and you're living in it.

Well, again, we haven't gotten to that point yet. We haven't gotten to the living end. We're still on the storing end. I like the table. Well, we're still on the storing end discussion. The living end discussion is how many slides away?

Two.

Two. Ten.

Temporary occupancy.

okay should we just table this discussion to we get some better I think we should know what to do so we'll just move them or they keep going yeah keep going yep okay so now we're looking at rural zones

So the rural and the difference between rural and residential came up during the planning commission public hearing or study session. And it was largely due to lot size. So now that we sort of have a threshold in mind, we can work with that. If a resident chooses to store an RV in the front yard, especially for the larger properties, they have room. So we've allowed them to store in the front with a modification of setback application approved by the planning or community development director. Because it's a larger lot, they're allowed up to three RVs with the Type 1 Conditional Use Permit. And so these are the basic proposed changes for storage of RVs on site. Currently, if we go back to our existing It just addresses storage of an RV at the rear of the dwelling in a Ramada garage or behind plants. And you're allowed only one additional RV on site. So now we get to the temporary occupancy. We currently don't have requirements with our code. This section addresses the occupancy length and number. So we are proposing up to five days to be allowed outright without a zoning application or fee. And that's primarily because you can have visitors come for a long weekend, and just getting the resident to come in to get a zoning clearance doesn't make sense. because you're basically going to be there for four or five days, maybe two days. It doesn't make sense to make the customer come in, get a zoning clearance just to stay for a few days. But once they reach the sixth day, that's where the zoning clearance application will come in along with the $25 fee. There is a max of 15 days, and this can be consecutive or non-consecutive, and it's basically to discourage permanent occupancy of RVs on site. This section would also allow two additional RVs temporarily with an approved Type 1 conditional use permit. The $25 fee was taken from our current fee schedule for manufactured mobile home or trailers on an individual lot.

Is that the same rules for both residential and rural?

Correct.

Not a fan of that, but I'll talk about that later. Right.

Well, I was going to start there. I mean, you know, I go back to the ADU discussion. So you can have an ADU in your backyard, and let's say it's very minimal, what, 10 by 10, 100 square feet, you know, ADU. But you can't live in, screened in the backyard, a $200,000 diesel pusher in your backyard. I'm lost on that, I guess. I guess we're okay. if it doesn't have wheels on it that's 100 square feet but i'm not okay with it because it has some wheels on it and it's 500 probably 400 square feet you know with a residential refrigerator and and i run a 220 outlet you know from the back are you describing yours No, my dream, my dream. But it's just from the common sense perspective, I guess I'm just getting lost on.

On a different point, I know you're just taking notes from all of us. The temporary occupancy, the one past that, I think five days is a little short. I mean, if you think about Thanksgiving or Christmas, I mean, people visit us. Rodeo weekend, like we are, that's limiting them getting a permit. So I think that should be longer. I'm not sure if I can land on exactly a day. Is that 10 days? Is it 14 days? But I think it needs to be longer because people visit us in the winter. 15 days. You have to get a permit at six days.

Yeah, at six days, and you have to pay for it. What's the purpose of getting the permit anyways? Just for you to know how many days they're going to be there for?

Mayor Murphy council members. Yes, that's that's part of the reason the other reason is if we receive a complaint and that's one of the other reasons that we're doing this is because we do have some neighbors that you know really like their neighborhood to stay as is and and they don't want RVs in front yards so part of it is to ensure that if they are going to be there long term we know part of code enforcement and also just to ensure that it is temporary and that we have a start and an end date

But I agree with the vice mayor. I don't know. Six days, seven days, that's not even a week. That's not even graduation week or something along those lines. Shane? No, it's more about the time frame.

Orlanthea, I recall maybe it was as long as two years ago. It could have been a little more recent. we had some kind of a neighbor dispute regarding an RV that was parked on the, on the property. Now it's in the area of La Cañada. I don't know if I recall exactly where, but, and I think those lots were a little bit smaller, but they were larger lots. But I think, I think, the neighbor that was complaining had has this huge three-wheel horse trailer sitting out on on on front of you know on the front of so is this applied are you going to get to that or is this just strictly rvs because does how do we treat that kind of situation where we're talking rvs but We also have big other kind of recreational vehicles. In this case, it was a horse trailer. It's probably bigger or as big as the RV itself. So what are your thoughts there?

Mayor Murphy, Shane, we have had that situation in where the RV or the complainant was complaining about an RV but had larger trailers or as large trailers. Right. And that was a very tricky situation to be in because the neighbor was deliberately looking for areas to complain about. And we didn't have... we didn't have a code that addressed the cleaning because in large part the other resident was prepping their rv for a weekend they had family matter family members visiting and it was it was difficult to kind of work through the code. This text amendment is only addressing the recreational vehicles. We're not really addressing the large trailers for like.

I appreciate that. So in this instance, I know the council is not going to be taking any action tonight on this. But if they were to adopt this, let's just say they adopted it tonight, The neighbor across the street would need to comply with their RV, but the other neighbor could leave their three-axle trailer out front, and there's no guidance on that. I'm going to sell my five. I just want to put it in perspective.

No, I'm going to sell my five cars, buy five horse trailers, put five beds in it, and then I'm good. Right?

On this one-acre lot. Like you're unofficial. You haven't purchased one-acre lot.

Yes, exactly. Dr. Gillespie.

Is this something that we as a town have gotten a lot of complaints about? Or is it more just from those two feuding neighbors?

Mayor Murphy councilmember Gillespie we do get them on occasion we do have neighbors that that say my neighbor is living out of their RV so we do get complaints about people living in RVs and we do check it We do several follow-up visits to make sure. And the biggest indicator is if it's being attached by a utility, so an electrical connection somewhere to the main building. That's how we consider it as occupied or in use, or if the pop-outs are out. But we do get complaints now and then that one that Shane is referring to was kind of our more complicated and more, that was one of our bigger code enforcement cases involving RVs.

Maybe I'm wondering like if it's a big enough issue that we, do we need to address this? Like the why behind it? right well I mean that's one of the options right and I appreciate all the work that's been put into this but I was just thinking about Devin's excellent presentation before and looking at the why and if if it's not a big concern or and maybe I'm missing with with these people who could be living in it if if there's bad things happening there

But to your point, you know, again, if someone's coming to see your child's graduation and... Oh, stay a month. Then they, yeah.

It's your family, right? Yeah.

Come on over. Right. And they want to stay seven days and hook up because you have a 220 outlet, right? I don't know. I'm just struggling.

You have people living out of their cars.

Right. Shane, yes.

Orlanthia and Nathan, my sensitivity was I recognized what your department went through when we were wrestling with that particular complaint. And I don't see how this ordinance is aiding your staff in dealing with that should it come back up again. Now maybe if you were to, apply these RV rules to other trailers or boats or whatever of significant size or whatever, then maybe I could see how it would help you in dealing with those types of complaints. But I don't see how this one's really helping if we were to face that again. And as far as I know, you know, the three axle trailer is still out there, front of the house. I mean, so I'm just curious, how are we helping us address those types of situations? Because that was a big one that I know that you guys wrestled with.

Would it be inappropriate to make a, you know, kind of back to Ed's point, you know, maybe table it, but with the expectation that we all, seven of us, look at what was provided based on this conversation and add some additional thoughts and feedback, because I don't think, one, we're going to get to, I think, a sense of confidence or finality.

we made it through the presentation this is the last one so i don't know if we did we talk about this one i can't remember now not not temporary parking and staging i think if you just got this one then she's made it through all of the suggestions i think she would be able to have a better understanding is that okay to spend the next few minutes on that one sure yeah that's fine

No, this is helpful. I understand it's a lot of components, and it's a larger chunk of the code that has actually become more visible because of COVID. Sure.

We're growing. We're bigger, right?

Right. So we're going to be faced with questions in the next few years of rvs and we don't have a lot of rv storage commercial rv storage in the town there's very there are very few so we're going to see something like this coming up soon so temporary parking and staging And this is also in response to a code enforcement complaint because they didn't like the fact that their neighbors were cleaning or prepping their RVs in the front yard. After the... study session with the Planning Commission, they decided that the right-of-way is also a good location to have it as long as they leave it accessible for emergency vehicles to pass by it if needed, and that it be legally registered and lawfully parked, meaning it's on the road, it's got the 20 feet on the side so the emergency vehicles can pass, and that it's not encroaching or parked on the sidewalk. So the commission was satisfied with two consecutive days to allow that to happen. And so that's where we ended. And that's my last slide.

Well, and I guess it goes back to Shane's point, I mean, for me on that last one. So we're going to limit the 24-foot RV, but we have Amazon trucks, water trucks, I mean, those all kinds of trucks that are parked in the right-of-way every night, right? So if we're just talking about the RVs, does it really get to the... end result that we're, I guess, struggling with or dealing with. So I have to make, you know, you'll make me move my 24 foot RV, but my 30 foot tow truck or whatever else is allowed to be parked on the public road, right?

All of the semis on Pima Mine Road.

Mayor and Council, I appreciate Orlanthea and Nathan and the community development team. One way or another, it's past time for us to address these types of codes. My point, and I apologize that it may have been a little bit of a curveball for staff, is I'm also cognizant of their wrestle when that kind of complaint hit them whenever it did a year or two ago. And whatever we bring back to council, the feedback that you gave us tonight is very helpful. It's not a waste of time at all. It'll help us develop something to bring back to you. But I would want that to help staff be able to address those types of complaints. in the future so I don't think we quite hit the mark here tonight but I think we've made progress and I appreciate the feedback absolutely

I'd rather get it right one time and take a little longer than come back and bite on the apple time after time. Any other questions or comments on that? Nope. And I'll just go through a couple of names, see if they still are here. Is Martin Bender?

He's here. He is here, but he's not. Oh. I think you have him. We've been waiting for you.

You're number one on my continuation list.

before you start my clock i just want to say i want to congratulate those young people tonight it was wonderful to see them and it was really great and thank you for honoring them yep now you can start the clock okay i'll say data centers have value but at what price water electricity noise pollution that's not just my concern It's a concern of Attorney General Mays, who recently called for a three year freeze on data center approvals. This allows objective data to be analyzed to ensure that data centers are safe. She declared the freeze as the only sane thing to do. I agree. I wonder, does this council support the Attorney General's three year freeze? I think everybody would like to know. As of now, there's no objective data that measures the impact of data centers. The only available info is provided by data center builders themselves, but their info is biased because they have a conflict of interest since they stand to make millions by building data centers. The ideal location for a data center has two main components, a naturally cool climate and plenty of water. Arizona has never had those two things and never will, making it the worst place to build a data center. We've been a drought zone for decades. We have no margin of error for water. People are afraid that our scarce water supply will be given to data centers instead of people, which they've seen has been done around the country. Our electricity is threatened because data centers use huge amounts of energy as well as water, causing higher utility prices due to unprecedented demand. How much water and energy are used in data center? No one really knows because there's no objective data. So many data centers have been built in secrecy without the public's input as well as involving NDAs which intentionally keep vital information hidden. The process reeks of corruption with the added insult of Americans getting stuck with the bill afterwards. We can't drink a data center or cool our homes with one. Data center noise is deafening and constant. People have been financially ruined because they can't sell their homes, because who would want to buy a home near a data center and that noise? People are afraid of data centers because they've seen so many lives have already been destroyed by them. No amount of money that Sal Rita might receive from a data center is worth those risks to our community. We've heard politicians and data center owners say, trust us. I don't know you guys, and there's no disrespect intended, but across the country and now here in Sourita, people are saying, we don't trust you or the process. That's because they've seen so much evidence that exists to the contrary. Our community isn't blind, and we're not stupid. Please remember that the 55,000 citizens of Salarita and Green Valley are not to be sacrificed as acceptable collateral damage just so data centers can be built here. So please, honor your oath as well as the wishes and the values of our community and say no to data centers here in Salarita. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Julie West. The light doesn't come on until you get to the podium.

Thank you very much and I appreciate the whole council. Good evening. I have a different spin on this. I've worked in a technical environment and I started in the computer industry at a very young age. Jurassic Park is an interesting movie where the raptor escapes its enclosure, the ranger goes to hunt for it, and then realizes he's the one being hunted. It's a creepy realization. And now We are the ones. We used to be the consumers. We still are. But now we're being consumed. Our profiles are being hunted. Our data is being used without our permission, violating our rights, being sold and traded as a commodity. We're the commodity. And that's kind of creepy as well. AI, artificial intelligence, are processed through data centers. So that's what we're inviting into our community. We don't know what's gonna be in that data center. our children's health could be in, that the records could be in those systems, as well as artists work, authors work, musicians work. There's a pirating of data that's going on that's illegal with our copyright and patents and HIPAA. But it's skirting all this. So who's responsible and who's allowing it to happen? And my question is, and you guys should all be asking, why do we need a data center? We don't need a data center in Sarita. Why? Why us? So some of the questions that come up about what data is going in there is, has anybody had a DUI? Has anybody ever had an STD? Has anybody ever committed a crime, even when they're young? That's going to get associated with your profile, whether you like it or not. And that information is going to stay in a computer. Your children's health records, if there's any psychological issues with a child, that stays in that profile that somebody is going to go data mine. Insurance companies, they're going to be looking at this. We're, there's no standards for the data and the AI. So why are we building a center to house that? Why? Could we have a Costco or a Trader Joe's? Can I say a couple more things?

Just really quickly.

OK. What's your legacy? The decisions you make, do you put a diamond in your crown when you're being judged about what you did in your life and decisions you made? Are you a coward and going to go and follow this and let this follow you? It's up to you guys to do an amazing job for us right now. Help us because we're in trouble. I've given you a report, a really good report. Please read it because it's excellent about both sides. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Susan Norris. uh cass east easton oh geez keep hitting that thing sorry and then last one is connie uh agaloni no you're closing us out hello hello sorry

Don't turn me on until I can reach the microphone. I am a Green Valley homeowner, so I really appreciate you letting me speak. Good evening. This is about data centers, but it's more of a bird's-eye view because I'm a neighbor. Once upon a time, there was a passenger liner launched with cutting-edge technology called watertight integrity. The media described the ship as practically unsinkable. And it made headlines when it hit an iceberg and sank. Everybody knows that part of Titanic. What most people don't know is that within two years of the sinking, the world convened an international convention for the safety of life at sea. The treaty addressed safety standards for all sailing vessels throughout the world, and last I checked, No lives have been lost at sea due to an iceberg since 1912. Chernobyl is a similar story. New tech, corners cut, safety ignored, something went wrong, lives were lost. But because of Chernobyl, we learned things, we invented things, we thought of things, we implemented things. So the two meltdowns that happened since then did not have the fallout or the lives lost. As for the cases of new tech that did put safety first, we don't remember them because they didn't end up as disaster documentaries. My point is this, server farms are not new, but rushing to scale them to titanic size without environmental safeguards is like racing through the Grand Bakes without giving binoculars to your lookouts. I'm not saying don't build it. I can't imagine the tightrope you guys are trying to walk right now. What I'm saying is I'm asking everyone to slow down, regardless of what the zoning is or what deals are or not in place. We have the opportunity right now to put safety and environmental standards in place before they get here. Whether they're coming or not, it doesn't matter. So that none of us end up in the next documentary.

I appreciate your time thank you thank you appreciate it and Diane did you want to comment on particular yes comment or yes yes yes is your mic on or is it just not close enough to you okay yeah that's better

So under open meeting law, I can request staff review from a call to public issue. And there were two gentlemen that spoke, Randy and Keith.

Denny, I think.

And they talked about Arizona Statute 12-134. 1134. Huh? 1134. 1134? 1134. So I am requesting from john paladini. A it's 10 minutes. I need to know if Randy and Keith's understanding of that statute is accurate, because I need the guidance from our law department. about that statute and if it is, if they are accurate that there are, it allows us to provide exceptions due to health. So an analysis of that statute and how it fits in with our parameters.

Thank you. Having no more further business, we're adjourned.