Council - Regular Meeting

Just put it in the Yeah, put it in the bin right there.

Hey, I welcome everyone to our city council regular meeting on March 11, 2026. The time is 5:32. I ask everybody to join us for a moment of silence after which councelor Kojan will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Thank you. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation,

one nation under Godisible, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Um, all counselors would please put your microphones on. Uh, madame clerk, will you do a roll call? Mayor Kidman here. Vice Mayor Pharaoh here. Councelor Cojan here. Councelor Hedinger here. Councelor Per here. Councelor Roundtree here. Councelor Hammond here.

Thank you. Our I first item number 31 is a community recognition a proclamation for American Red Cross month. I've asked councelor Roundtree to read the po proclamation and then we'll present it.

First of all, I want to recognize um um councelor Auggie had worked closely and created this um connection with the council um with American across and that we still appreciate and recognize his efforts. proclamation American Red Cross Month. Whereas for more than 140 years, the American Red Cross has provided compassionate care to those in need. And whereas the American Red Cross supports members of the United States armed forces and their families as well as providing disaster relief around the world. And whereas the Red Cross, American Red Cross, developed the first nationwide civilian blood program in the 1940s and still provides more than 40% of the blood products, blood products in this country. And whereas dedicated volunteers and generous donors make it possible for the American Red Cross to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the faces face of emergencies. And whereas these collective efforts are powerful reminders that the strength of our community lies in our shared commitment to one another. Now therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Paige, Arizona, do hereby proclaim March 2026 to be American Red Cross month in Paige, Arizona, and encourage all residents to recognize the extraordinary efforts of the American Red Cross and to support its mission by volunteering their time, donating blood, and contributing resources to help those in need. Dated this 11th day of March, 2026. Signed by Stephen R. Kidman and Cindy Scott, our city clerk. And we have someone from the red crosser this evening. I think I saw earlier.

Before we go down there, I'd entertain a motion to accept the I move to set the proclamation. Second. We have a motion from councelor Kojan and a second from councelor Frell. All in favor say I. I. And we have a representative from the Red Cross. Did you want to make a comment? No. Just thank you on behalf of the American Red Cross of Northern Arizona. Um just want to know want you to take this as a reminder that we're here for the people of Paige in their time of need.

Thank you. We'll join you down here on the step and to get to come take a picture. We're all gonna just come right up here for a picture and I'll let you be in the middle. No pressure.

We have to Oh, what? Oh, no. Oh, no. We're not done. We're not done.

Science crooked. How dare you? Surprised you didn't knock mine on the floor. [snorts] Thank you. A reminder all counselors to put their microphones back on. Um item number four, consent agenda for one, two, and three. Councelor um Preller. Sure, Mr. Mayor. Uh, I move to approve uh item four, the consent agenda, sub items one, two, and three. Second.

Have a motion from councelor Peller and a second from councelor Hettinger. All in favor say I. I. I. I.

Thank you. Item number five, the public hearings. Before I open it, I will turn the time over to city manager for a presentation on this particular public hearing. All right. Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council. Uh, just want to do a quick presentation here to maybe explain what a what a base adjustment is because the last one that was done in in PAGE was 2004. So, um, so in 1979, the the state legislature, um, they wanted to basically limit city and town expenditures because uh, property taxes and debt were rising and they wanted to control spending. So, they passed a a law that set spending limits for cities and towns. There's there's two ways to do this. Um, one is by by home rule. So, if they if a city elects to to follow home rule, they need to renew that election by a vote of the people every four years. Um, what we use is called a permanent base adjustment. And like I said, the last time it was done was in 2004. So, why adjust the spending base? Um, like we said in 1979, that spending doesn't really keep up with inflation and it doesn't account for additional revenue sources that that cities and towns have. Just for example, Paige, the horseshoe bend fund wasn't around in 1979. I don't know that I don't think the golf course was a city fund by then. and also utility

enterprise funds are often some that might come in after 1979. So, um, one thing to note with the with the base adjustment is loans and grants actually go to a credit against that spending base. So, in sense it almost penalizes cities for for being good stewards of the money. Um, my understanding is a few years ago, Paige ran into that, paid off a bunch of bond debt, and the power company had a huge spike in power prices and had I think they had to spend like 5 million on power in one month, and the city came really close to coming up against our our base adjustment or our base spending limit, which is currently around 42 million. So, um, the ironic part is if the city hadn't paid off the bonds, they would have been fine. So, um, so what is the what is a base adjustment formula? Well, there there's no limit on the amount of adjustment and it goes through the same analysis as home rule and has the same deadlines as far as the policy and and going to election. The formula itself, like I said, was based on 1979 spending limits. And then they have factors for both population and inflation. The original base was was just under 5 million for page. Um, if there was no base adjustment, the spending limit now would be 32 million. So with the base adjustment that was done in 2004, the current spending limit is is 42 million, about a $10 million increase over that 1979 base.

So we ran through with finance, talked to utilities and and staff. And what we think we even the last meeting we even changed a little bit. We thinking 20 million increase, which would give us a $62 million spending limit. That's not a revenue limit. That's the spending limit. Um that'll probably get us for about 20 years, we think, um to not run into any issues. So that would put the base adjustment when you back the numbers up back into 1979. That number is $3,54,994. That's how we get that. But just remember that three million, it's not the spending adjustment. It's 20 million in today's dollars. So, so a little bit about the process just to let people know. Um staff we used um we estimated expenditures to determine the base adjustments. Um we need to hold two public hearings. This would be the second of the two public hearings and then provide next step would be to provide projections to the auditor general in a detailed analysis along with the council resolution which I think is on today's agenda as well and we need to do that at least 60 days before the election. After that, they'll submit a pamphlet to the auditor general along with any submitted uh for or against arguments. And then the election, we're shooting for the the primary election this year. So, that's how the the actual process works with that. Any questions or go into a public hearing?

Question for you. So when the city accidentally bumps up because of certain things that line up incorrectly, bumps up against that limit and we go over, then what is the result when we go over? Not sure. We get fined. Yeah, it could be it could be pretty hefty.

Yeah. So actually what happened two years ago is we actually exceeded our spending limit when um when the power prices spiked because you know most cities don't have to buy power out of their city budget. We do we have to buy power and like Frank said it was over $4 million in one month. Typically the the the utility budgets about $7 million for the entire year for power and they to purchase electricity and they got hit with a bill one month of $4 million over $4 million. So what that did is it it it bumped us over our um spending limitation and the state was going to find us $ 1.5 million for doing that. So you spent too much money here. We're going to take another $1.5 million from you. Well thanks. Um, so but what [clears throat] we were able to do with through our auditors, we were able to negotiate with the state and say we had been under for so many years, they essentially went back and credited us for being under before and said don't ever do this again [laughter] and we're going to wave at it this one time for you. But um, but yeah, that's what happens.

Council Roundree. And so this is going to we can only bond at 15 million, right? So after this is done, will we be able to bond possibly at a higher limit or higher rate? I it doesn't affect our bond ratings. It's the the budget that council sets every year. I understand that, but it's not so it won't end up affecting how they um give us a bond rating. No. Okay. Any other questions, comments? Okay.

I got a comment council. I think it's important to note that that we you use a zerobased balance. So that just because we could spend the money, we're not going to spend that money if it doesn't come in. There's always operated in in that. So this doesn't mean we could go out and spend $62 million. It just gives us the window. It just gives us that ceiling. So what for unusual situations, right, Eric, if I can add to that maybe or just reemphasize that that Yeah. the the spending limits are set by council every year through the budget process, but this is just the maximum spending limit that council can set.

Councelor, um, heading, you were going to say something. Oh, I was just going to ask this is the public hearing portion. I wonder if it makes sense to have our discussion and questions under new business 101. Um, but then I just scratched my microphone a bunch, so I'm going to Okay. shamefully put it back down. Okay. So for the presentation, I think we're probably done with the presentation. Okay.

So I will go ahead and open up this public hearing for expenditure limitation permanent base adjustment. Are there any comments or questions from the public on this public hearing? Seeing that there are none, I will close the public hearing for permanent base adjustment. Item number six, hear from the citizens. We have five blue cards. Um, some of these items are on the agenda. When I ask if you would like to speak at this point or on right before the agenda, you can give me your [snorts] your decision of when you would like to do so. Um, you want to speak now, you'll go to the podium where the microphone is. You'll have three minutes. give your full name and just city of residence, not your actual address. So, we'll start with Victoria Redshirt. Um, Mayor Kidman and counselors, I hope you don't mind if I read from my phone. I get a little nervous and that way I can say what I actually came here to say. Um, first of all, I do want to thank you for your time of hearing us. I know it's not required and so thank you for spending a little extra time to hear what I and others have to say. And I also want to thank each of you and all of the staff members for making our city run so smoothly. I know that a lot of your work is not seen and I just want you to know that it's appreciated. Um [snorts] I'm here to speak about item number 12, the amendment to the existing purchase agreement with Treble Hospitality. They're hoping for more land and their reasoning is to have more security for their resort. The land they want takes existing recreational hiking and biking trails that are available to Paige residents and visitors. This is a young

city and the trail is even younger and it's already so popular. Imagine what this trail area could be in 20, 50, 100 years with the views and access as it exists currently. Treble is willing to put $100,000 into moving our trails. With $100,000, they could do a lot to ensure the safety and privacy of their guests. Additionally, these trails cannot just be moved as it is an area that cannot be replicated. Passing this amendment would be a great loss to Paige residents and visitors just to allow a few visitors to have exclusivity. Thank you. Thank you. Um, we'll go to Paul Boffman. You want to do item 12, but you might be going in executive session.

You can still if you would like to speak just before we go into executive session or do it now. I'll wait. Okay, let me write that down. Um, Cody Woods. Okay, let's go to Michelle Zia. There she is.

Hello, Michelle Zia from Paige. Hello, neighbors. Uh, I want to be clear right off the bat. This is not the opinion I'm speaking on the data center and this is not the opinion of the pack or any of the other groups. Steve, after I spoke in the last meeting, you stated, and I quote, "Counselors that are attacked can respond after the public speaks. Using the word attacked suggests aggression, and I'm offended by this characterization of my calm and direct, protected speech. You called my speech an attack because I'm opposing you." Or perhaps you feel attacked because you know you're wrong. You're attempting to turn passion into aggression. You are backing this in practically complete opposition of the town. So perhaps what you're feeling is heat. I'm guessing this is why you've chosen not to respond when I addressed you directly. A small group of about a dozen citizens gathered out front during doing the only thing left to do to protest this decision. The city was respectfully given details ahead of time. So we were taken aback to see heavily armed page PD officers outnumbering us. We were told this presence was in case we got out of hand. How insulting. These are people who give to this community who teach your ch children and volunteer students who care. people who simply cherish Paige and its slow pace and beauty. You are the one out of hand, intimidating good people and wasting city resources. This is not leadership. You are a threat to this town. It is wrong to intentionally hide vital information from voters, businesses,

homeowners, and neighbors about a hyperscale AI data plant with too many risks to even be considered. But you were coaxed and agreed. In governing, it is your duty to meet challenges and not hide. You haven't held one public meeting to apologize or even address your insult to the residents against the data center. You've provided no real information regarding the sweetheart deal to Huntley on the land. You've not shared any proven evidence of positive outcomes from other data centers like this. It was nearly a year under your vow of secrecy to some international company before we found out. Straight out of Huntley's handbook on how to avoid unreasonable citizens and public pressure to appease those in opposition, you put an FAQ on the city website. But there is barely any information. How can we feel good about this when you have no clue yourself?

Your time is up. You answer to us, not Huntley.

We will go to Craig Sanderson.

Deferred till item 91. Okay. Write that down. Item number seven, uh, 171, mayor's reports. I was only going to comment on agenda item number three, which is a community recognition, a new category on this this uh agenda. There's been a request and I feel a need to have an agenda item in which different entities throughout town can provide information to the city clerk and have put on that we can recognize great things that are done in our community. And it's so the public realizes this is open to the public to submit things for that qualify as recognition to the public and they would need to do the work on assembling the presentation or the the description of what is to be recommended or recognized and get that to the city clerk. But that is what that that um agenda item will be a repeating one whether there is a community item or not. Any questions from council? Just wanted to let everybody know what that is for. Okay. On to item number 72, current managers or city managers current event summary.

Thank you, mayor and council. Uh first I want to start with a recognition of staff member. We our March gym of the month is is Louis Claw from airport maintenance division. So u he's been doing great work. We wanted to recognize him. Next we've got some events coming up. Um we've got a geocache event March 14th from 10 to 2 at the library. Then the Easter egg hunt is March 28th from 9 to 11 says at the events. I'm assuming those been here in town longer than me know where that is. So

usually at the it's at the sports complex.

Sports complex. That's where Events's office is. So, um, and then also on March 28th at the library at noon is is PageCon. So, it's the the Page Library Con 2026. Um, and this is after the next meeting, but I wanted to go ahead and announce it now for folks so they can plan. The America 250 Traveling Museum is coming to Paige on April 2nd from 10 to 6 at the library. So, so those are some upcoming events. And this next one um might take a little long, but hopefully bear with me. Um it's another special thanks and I wanted to thank especially Lieutenants Bernard and Meyers with the police department. um they helped several states actually apprehend a triple murder suspect. So, if you give me just a minute, I want to read through this timeline a little bit and kind of help explain what real time policing is. So, on March 4th at 9:32 p.m., King County Sheriff contacted um Lieutenant Bernard and notified him of a triple homicide in Wayne County, Utah. Then in 947, King County asked Lieutenant Bernard um to enter the vehicle information into the license plate reader database. Um the sergeant advised that the Utah helicopter was tracking a vehicle near Garfield County and Kane County lines and they believe the vehicle was driven by the suspect. So, at 9:49, 17 minutes later, Lieutenant Bernard and Lieutenant Myers entered the information into the flock database. Um, the suspect had stolen one of the victim's vehicles after he murdered the

three people or allegedly. After the vehicle information was entered into the database, um it got a hit and uh that vehicle had been through the page city limits at 506 earlier that day. So that what this did is that showed that the helicopter was tracking the wrong vehicle and they could try and find the correct vehicle. So, Paige investigators um believe that the vehicle had left the page city limits and traveling towards Colorado. So, Chief Lang was contacted, authorized investigations to expand the search and upon expanding the search, another LPR um notified PAPD that the vehicle had been flagged traveling on Highway 550 near Durango at 9:35. So it caught up to him. So at 11:38, Flock notified us that the vehicle had traveled past the LPR license plate reader, US 160 near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Pagosa Springs officer began searching for the vehicle, saw it in the in Pagosa Springs. The suspect fled the vehicle on foot and initiated a a foot search. Um, at 2:53 a.m., the suspect was located and taken into custody without incident. So, in just a matter of hours, through some of that real-time policing, they realized they were tracking a incorrect vehicle, got a halt in the path of the correct vehicle. And uh here's a quick note from the Utah Department of Public Safety. They issued a special thanks to Lieutenants Bernard and Meyers. His quick action and tracking once a hit came up on the license plate readers helped Utah Department of Public Safety arrest a triple murder suspect in Colorado and quite possibly saved additional lives. So, I just I know it

took a little time, but I wanted to show an example of what we mean when we're talking about real-time policing and the real effect it has to to potentially save lives. [applause] So, thanks to thanks to PD. So, um and that's all for my announcements right now.

Okay. Thank you very much. Item number 81, council leaison reports on board meetings. Any council members? We'll start with councelor Pharaoh and work that way. um attended the airport advisory board meeting March 9th here and the uh we had a presentation from the CEO Matt from Contour and he discussed the projects they're working on as well as their their status in terms of on time and their flights completed. uh they they exceeded the on time. They had an 81% and then they had a 99.5% of flights completed. They tracked that data. They work with additional terminal partners in Phoenix 4 uh terminal 4, which is good. the the rest of the uh agenda of the new business was the team basically didn't have an opportunity to study all the material so they moved it to unfinished business next meeting which will cover the Walker Consultants parking study airport hanger use and tenant proposal reviews.

Thank you councelor Hinger.

Thank you mayor. that the parks and recreation board met on March 2nd. Uh that same night the par club did their open house and they were able to we got a report from staff that it was a a really big success. They had more than 175 people in attendance there. They already have people requesting to rent out to the paracub and then the recreation department is also going to do office hours from there Monday through Saturday. Um so excited to see that being used. Parks and trails gave us a great update. They ran conduit to Horseshoe Bend and they finished the trail to Shell Cave. And so they're still working on adding signage there. And Parks and Trails also went over some capital improvement projects that they have planned for next year's budget. And unfortunately, we did get an update that we're having issues with vandalism at the splash pad that isn't even open yet. Uh so staff is working on possible solutions for that, but um it's really unfortunate that that's something that they have to deal with. Um the board discussed future projects at that meeting and made a couple of motions. So they wanted to let council know that updated bathrooms at the sports complex are a priority for the board and they also made a motion to recommend that steps to move the urban trail forward be included in next year's budget. So understanding that the urban trail will be a larger project, uh we just want to make sure the board would like to see it start moving forward next year knowing that it might not happen all within one year. Um, the board then met again this Monday, March 9th, to discuss the land sale to Treble Hospitality that's on the agenda tonight. Um, I don't want to get too much into that. We already heard from Victoria Redshirt, who's a member of the board. We're hearing for from two more board members. So, I will let them explain their reasoning, but it was a really I thought it was a great meeting. Um, we had Banks and Daytona from the project there to present. The board was able to discuss and ask questions. Um, so in terms of getting our boards and our citizens involved in decisions, I

thought it was great to see everyone very engaged there. Um, they did move as a board to recommend that city council not move forward with the amendment uh to the contract and so that was unanimous from the board

and councelor Roundree. So, the library meets next week, but I just wanted to follow up with um the open house for Parac Club and recognize that um our library staff and a few of the event staff, but the majority of the library staff, I'm so grateful that we had employees that stepped up. We did not have to hire and go out and hire painters and cleaners. They did it themselves. And um Debbie Wlock, our department had cleaned the bathrooms herself thoroughly and they look great. So, I just want to say thank you and that's what Paige is all about is that we have employees that would step up and do the work at the Parac Club. And if anyone's had the opportunity to go down there and then one more question, everyone keeps asking how did it get the name Par Club? What does PE RA stand for? We have some guesses but we don't have any factual information. So, if there's any citizens that know what that stood for, call our city clerk and let us know. But I want to thank the library staff for the great job that they did. So, I can't answer questions from here, but if you know,

we'll get that from you another time. Get it from you another time. But thank you and a shout out to all of those city employees that just stepped up and did that. Thank you. Um, I had the PUE meeting last night. I was only able to attend 30 minutes of it. Things at the PUE seem to be going well like clockwork. Counselor Roundtree was there. Was there anything of importance after I left besides just there? I think there's a lot of important stuff in that meeting tonight and I'm not reporting on it. Okay. It'll be coming to our table and it's going to be there. There was a a brief update with our water project group

in Washington DC and timetables of what's what we're still working on for funding and for approvals and things are moving as I've said before. Council Roundtree

I'm I don't I don't know. I can't ask them the question, but um I I wrote into our senators and our um representatives in regards to the Colorado River Compact and the decisions being made there. And I was told that no one else had applied yet. But at that PEO board meeting, they discussed that um this week the House of Representatives and next week or the week after that, the Senate will be hearing the $2 billion or almost $2 billion to um refurbish the north rim of the Grand Canyon. and our our redundant line might be attached some monies in that. So, we encourage citizens to reach out and let your know the representatives and our senators what they feel about the rebuild of the North Rim Canyon and to approve that funding for that to happen. So, I thought that was a big deal and they gave a Senate a report from Washington DC. They were on a Zoom meeting updating us on the what's happening at the North Rim and I appreciated that. Okay, thank you. Item number nine, unfinished business 91. We're at the point uh Craig Sanderson, did you want to address at this point? It's Craig Sanderson from Paige, Arizona. We're next door to the vacant lots. And uh I would just say that first of all I think that um city needs to acknowledge the fact that even though tourism is down it's uh there's always a need for housing here. So it's important whether the city keeps it for housing or sells it. That's what it needs to be. I'd certainly like to see restrictions on that. I don't know what the code allows or whatever, but it should not be allowed for short-term rental. I mean, if it's something that you have control over in the sale, then that should be a

provision of the sale as it would not be used for a short-term rental. We don't need somebody from out of town buying it and converting it. However, um you know, even should be with a rental to local people is fine or you know, a purchase or whatever. Um I would also say that um should be a new home that goes in there, not a used one. I don't know if that code already takes care of that or not. And uh um we uh or with my wife and myself would be interested in purchasing that place if it was available. Um you know, just to make sure that done the right thing for the community as well as for ourselves as as next-door neighbors. Um if it came to splitting the lot where it's two lots and we'd take half that the other one do one and a half that would be fine as well. So plenty of options. Uh not really encouraging you one way or another other than no short-term and no used homes to be pulled into there and you know to keep it from the community and allow uh affordable housing in the community is important. Thank you. I do have a letter [clears throat] hand off here for the council members.

Okay, thank you. I'll turn the time over to city manager on this one.

Thank you, mayor, members of council. Um, I think at this point staff is just looking for direction on what to do. There's actually two lots. I think one of them may still have a structure on it. Uh, what direction to provide to staff to utilize these lots or sell them or what is council's desire here? May councelor Cojan. Mr. Mayor, when when we uh initiated this program, it was to provide temporary rental property for uh professionals like we're having trouble with with police, fire, and like uh prosecutor stuff. And that was our intention to buy the lots and put a modular home on there that would be an investment for the city and they could rent them for up to a year or two where they found housing so we could track them professionally. that would keep losing because of the housing project and that would limit who could add who could rent them at some point and then if that changes in the future the city could sell them or whatever but it'd be a good investment for the city to make that happen so we can attract those professionals. Thank you.

Any other council prowler? Um to that point, uh they are two pretty reasonable size lots right next to each other uh right on one of our [clears throat] major arterial uh roadways. I don't know if it's an arterial or collector. I'll let the planning nerd sort that out. Um, but I think it might be worth looking into uh potentially combining that lot, those lots and reszoning and or you know trying to reszone um and um looking like at uh triplex, quadplex, something with density because it is like on the mesa in the core of town walkable to the rest of town. Um it's it's a place where, you know, putting up some density makes sense. Um, it's not going to be a high-rise or anything, but something more than, you know, like one dwelling unit would would make sense on those lots. Councelor Hedinger.

Uh, so we bought these lots last year, nothing happened with them, and I'm wondering was that more the result of we had some staff turnover, so it just got lost, or are there what are the like tricky things that the city runs into when trying to manage housing? Does it make sense for us to consider keeping it on or are we always going to run into roadblocks with the city trying to maintain a property like this?

I guess the second half of that question might be better answered by the city manager. I'm not sure. I think he's had some conversations with HR about, you know, is are you talking about just how do how do we manage internally? Um, you know, how do we act as landlords? Those kinds of things. Um, so he may have some information on that. I'm not sure. Um we did so what we did was we cleaned them up. Um and there was a little bit of turnover and so kind of some delay in figuring out what to do. Uh there was some discussion at the time about um you know moving houses on but given the interim situation with everybody at the time it was kind of it I think it was decided to just wait and see. So now that they are all cleaned up and ready, I think the city manager is just looking for direction on, you know, do we want to sell them or do we want to keep it for housing? Now, as far as how that might look internally, I don't know if you have any information on that.

Uh what we do if if council wanted to keep them and look at them for housing, staff could put together some proposals for council to review. be it either put uh manufactured homes back on them or if council wanted to look at a some sort of multif family unit. We could maybe give you some of the pros and cons to that and and just really it's it's up to council. Can we do it? Yes. Have we done it before? Not here. Um, I'm throwing Rachel under the perver bill bus, but she actually managed some employee housing at a previous employer before. So, um, but we're really up to council if we want to do it.

Councelor Pharaoh and then councelor um, Hammond.

I understand that Rachel used to have access to a couple of places for that we would use for people coming in for jobs and positions for the city. and we've subsequently have lost those. I like your idea of having staff come back with a a report on on a range of things such as put a a manufacturer module on, get with one of our recent um builders who's got a contact to get those things at wholesale and and they're really nice and we do need to have something for Rachel and staff to have a support and I agree with the public. It's not shouldn't be for short-term rental. It should be for staff or as councelor Cojan said the support as well as an option. I'm not quite sure what it would look like to have a try place there versus two manufactured housing. I'm I think staff can come back with some options and help us make a educated decision. Thank you.

Thank you, Councelor Hammond. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Similar to Councelor Pharaoh, I wanted to ask what is staff's recommendation? Um, so yeah, I would like to see us come back with more information from staff, a range of options and some recommendations if if I'll get right to you. If memory serves, there was a budget amount for this situation last year, was there not? I don't know. I don't think so. I do know councelor Roundtree she says she knows.

Yeah. Because I was involved in the beginning of it. So Darren said he was going to use it out of his emergency funds because it happened after the budget and we had those fires and the horrific that somebody you had no electricity, no running water and you know we don't need to recover all the the reasons why this happened. Um so now now now to your comment

and so so my comment is that I agree with um councelor um um cojan and and pharaoh. I'm pretty much with everybody. I'm not I'm open to addressing and seeing what the the triplex might look at. I'm not completely against it. But the thing only thing I want to add to it is that we were concerned about how [snorts] it was affecting the neighborhood and the look of both of these places and burnt out and fires and we have some other lots that are like that that I do want to make sure that it is aesthetically pleasing for the community that we're not just backing a trailer in there and then ignoring the rest of it. If we are going to go into renting of it, I do, you know, want to make sure, you know, it it's it's an addition to the the neighborhoods and those who are there and not just the trailer. So, do you kind of that's my recommendation as a counselor is to also when you bring back your recommendation, I would like something to to understand about is it going to have a porch or stairs or, you know, a yard or a fence or is it going to be cleaned up and and make sure it's still cleaned. I think we're far enough we can ask for a motion unless you have another comment. Council,

uh, I just want to say that if if we're going to look at selling, I think we should keep the lots separate and do some sort of um either like blind auction or a Dutch style auction or or something like that to keep it fair. But I don't think the city is in this for the money. I don't think the amount that the lots would bring is going to be moving the needle for our coffers. So, I think that housing is a far more valuable resource to be looking after. Um, do you want a motion on that?

Well, I I just want to comment. I know that the original plan was when the city used any funds and when there was that burn that whatever happened, we were going to get the full amount back if we sold it. That was the that was the goal. So, that it would be like a just a a flip and that we would have the full amount of money back. Councelor Frell. Uh, city manager, is it do you need a motion or

I was just whispering that to the attorney. I don't know that we need a motion and I think I have direction of council's okay with that that we'll we'll come back with a proposal with some options, maybe put some numbers to it and uh look at some costbenefit analysis, bring that back to council so you can have a more informed decision for a motion in a future meeting. I appreciate that. Thank you, councelor headinger. And just one last thought, it would be really helpful to know like the burden on staff as well to evaluate that as part of the whole costbenefit analysis. Absolutely. The the easiest option for staff would be just sell it. I can tell you that right now. But we want to also follow council's direction.

Council cogent. Mr. Mayor, council russled with this for years. This this isn't something new. We've been trying to do this for years to bring in the thresholds and stuff and unfortunately we can't put multiple house in there because it would be spot zoning, but we can't actually put a modular there and we could act actually get some figures and if we're going to move forward, we could have it done in this year's budget and make something happen for a change. Okay, thank you. So, you have you have your direction.

Yes. And I just want to maybe caution that with the meetings being so close these next couple months, we're really past the deadline for the next meeting to submit items. So it might take it might not be the next coming up meeting, but another one after that. So whenever whenever you're ready. Okay. Item number 101, new business, resolution 1340-26 on the permanent base adjustment, which we have the public hearing for. Uh, madame clerk, will you please introduce the resolution?

A resolution of the mayor and city council of the city of Page, Cookanino County, Arizona, proposing a permanent adjustment to the 1979 80 base expenditure limitation. Councelor Cojan may move to adopt resolution number 1340-26. Second. We have a motion from councelor Cojan and a second from councelor Prowler. Any other comments? All in favor say I. I. I. I. Thank you. Unanimous. Item number 102, purchase of used motor grater for public works. Again, over to the city manager.

Thank you, mayor, members of council. I apologize for actually bringing this to you. I don't like to bring things mid year, but I was hired mid year, so I get a pass this year. So, um, what we've got is a proposal to ask council to purchase a 2017 Caterpillar 140 M3 road grader. Um, it's a used unit. Um, and we want to replace our current unit, which is a 1985 gallion that uh really is just it's difficult to keep running and difficult to find parts for 1985. I was I'm old and I'm was still in high school then. So, um, but, uh, it I've been told by maintenance staff it uses upwards of double digits of gallons of hydraulic fluid just to start it up. So, um, why do we want to purchase it now and not wait till the next budget? Well, the trick is we've got two large projects that staff could be working on that really need this. Uh we're trying to to work on improving the amphitheater parking lot with the increased tourist traffic we get over there for the Shell Cave and they're actually moving into the amphitheater area enjoying the beautiful rocks and the public land over there. But that parking lot's really sandy and and people get stuck there quite often. Um also we're looking at uh working on parking arrangements for the Fourth of July fireworks over by the golf course. we need to to work on some of the dirt areas over by the parking lots there. Um so we really need to do this work before July. Um so we could we could rent units. Um but you know and then we'd be spending

$20,000 or more for a monthly rental and if we need the unit new unit anyway. Um why not invest that in a unit we'll have? Also uh these used prices we're not sure if they'll hold until next budget year. Uh we'd probably have to look for a different unit. It might be sold. So, um, we also looked at the funding resources along with the the theme of of staff turnover and projects. There's, uh, several projects that haven't been as quick as we had want this year. Um, so we still have about 5 million in council's budget for capital projects that hasn't been spent yet. We don't know if all of that'll be spent, but we think 300,000 we can find. Um, and we also still have approximately 1.5 million in U towards her funds we can apply to. Some of these are those same capital projects. So those numbers aren't necessarily exclusive, but this is a road grader that can go towards using those special HERF funds for that. So, with that, I'll answer any questions and appreciate council's consideration of uh letting us kind of out of the ordinary purchase this uh used piece of equipment. Councelor Ferrell.

I'm going to move to approve the purchase of the used 2017 Caterpillar 140 M3 motor greater from Empire Machinery for the total amount of 26,890. I'll second as long as you don't ask for anything else. You got it. Can't promise that. You might be able to get a better second if you ask. Yeah. Unconditional. I heard councelor Pller second it as well. So, I think they were a tie. So, I just flipped the coin on that one. We have a motion from councelor Pharaoh and a second from councelor Kojan. All in favor say I. I. I. I. Unanimous. Thank you.

Item number 11, potential future agenda item. A reminder to council, this one is not for discussion. We'll have councelor Roundtree read the paragraph and we'll just get a quick show of hands if we are interested in this item coming back to us when ready.

All right. So, as a council member, I believe we must proactively establish clear policy on non-disclosure agreements before issues arise. NDAs can undermine public trust and shield government operations from citizen oversight. What propriety information deserves protection under Arizona? We need we need defined parameters ensuring transparency remains our default position. Without formal policy, individual employees might sign NDAs has happened in the past that bind our city um without council knowledge or consent. This policy protects both our residents right to open government and our municipality from unauthorized commitments. Given the present concerns of NDAs and public sectors dealing dealings, establishing this safeguard now demonstrates our comm community our commitment to accountability. I respectfully request this matter be placed on a future agenda for full full discussion and considerations.

Okay. Thank you. All those who I think we easily have a consensus. We will go ahead and we will work with that with the staff for a future agenda item. Thank you.

We are down to item number 12, executive session. Um, we have two blue cards that wanted to address us. We'll start with Paul Boffman. [clears throat] Thank you all. Uh, I'm Paul Boffman. I own property 850 Vista Avenue. Um uh I am also the uh uh chairman of the parks and recreation advisory board here in Paige. Um I come before you tonight to strongly oppose the proposed extension of land sale along the Red Mesa Rim Trail. This trail isn't just a path. It's a lifeline for our community and visitors, drawing over a thousand users per month for hiking, biking, fitness activities, exploration, and rejuvenation in our stunning natural landscape. We cannot afford to sacrifice it for fleeting gains. Extending this cell would permanently eliminate a cherished recreational area, one that the PB helped create through dedicated advisory efforts. Once it's gone, it's gone forever. No second chances. At our current usage rate, that's over 12,000 visitors annually. Project that forward just 10 years, and we're talking exceeding a 100,000 people that are no longer able to use that. Likely far more as tourism grows. We're trading away irreplaceable enjoyable enjoyment for thousands of people, locals and tourists alike, all to cater to a wealthier class with developments that promise luxury but deliver little to the average page resident. Let's be clear about the economic trade-offs. This extension might create a handful of jobs, but from our current and past experience, primary construction roles will be outsourced to

external firms. And then you look at Alman Giri property as a prime example. Many positions are filled seasonally by out oftowners benefiting perhaps a few hundred page residents at most in the long run. Meanwhile, it disrupts the very reason so many of us choose to live in this amazing place. The access to pristine trails, the sense of community, and then the spoiled beauty that defines Paige. You know, I do appreciate the desire for more tourism opportunities. They can enrich our town. However, they cannot come at the expense of our current citizens quality of life. We must protect what makes page special, not eroded for developments that favor the elite over the everyday user. Um, it's also unfortunate that the PB wasn't consulted in the early stages of this proposal. As the advisory board instrumental in shaping the recreation area, our input could have highlighted these risks and explored better alternatives. uh moving forward without us undermines the collaborative spirit that built these assets in the first place. Um in conclusion, I use I urge the council to reject this land sale extension. Let's preserve the Red Mesa Rim Trail for the thousands who cherish it, ensuring Page remains a welcoming haven for all and not just a few. Um thank you guys for your for your attention

and Cody Woods. Good evening, uh, Mr. Mayor and council members. Um, thank you and appreciate the difficult position that all of you find yourselves in, uh, with this, uh, this decision [clears throat] that you have with Treble Holdings. Um, I stand before you to express my opposition to the proposed acquisition of the resides Mesa Rim Trail by Trouble Holdings. Uh the purpose of the proposal as presented tonight is primarily to protect the safety and privacy of affluent individuals, not the residents of Paige. Although the city has already agreed to sell land intended for development, a decision I do regret, that decision has already been made. Tonight's request goes even further, seeking additional land to provide extra security for the high-end guests. Over the past few weeks, I've met several times with Banks and Dakota, and I I actually really appreciate uh the amount of time that they've they've given me and listened to uh my complaints and my talking about how [snorts] great the the trail is out there um and how we want to keep it. Uh their project's impressive and it does hold promise for Paige, potentially generating increased tax revenue and creating new jobs, albeit more jobs in the hospitality hospitality sector. I don't oppose or lament these potential advantages and I'm not against new development. However, if this project proceeds, paid residents and visitors will lose access to a valuable area that enhances their quality of life and cannot be replaced. There aren't other places uh like this uh that the city can that those residents can use. Uh the space offers opportunities for recreation, showcases the natural beauty of our region, uh and features some of the finest lick rock and rimt trails I have had the pleasure to hike or bike. The city only recently developed and opened the Red Mesa rim uh the Red Mesa area for public use. But despite this, all this time of investment of effort, funds, and grants to develop it, the

city didn't reszone much of it to safeguard it for its intended purposes and for future generations. late 2024, the pristine slick rock below the the rim u was sold to Trouble Holdings because it still was zoned for commercial. Now, now due to the privacy and security uh asks for Trouble Holdings for these VIP guests, Trouble seeks to claim even more of the space that's intended for the residents to enjoy for recreational use. If it weren't for these VIP guests paying thousands of dollars per per night, there would be no need for this additional buffer zone, and Red Mesa would continue to thrive. Instead, the best segments of the trail offering the most spectacular views will be inaccessible to everyone except for these lux uh resort guests. With the loss of the views and trails, I believe this would mark the end of Red Mesa's future potential as a destination prime recreation area. the $100,000 offered by Trouble will not ever uh be able to to regain what is being lost. I respectfully urge the council to vote against this resolution and preserve the space for the future benefit of uh Paige uh for the benefit of of current uh residents and future generations and also to look at existing green spaces and open spaces to protect them in the future. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh, with that, I'm looking for a motion to go into executive session. Sure, Mr. Councelor Prowler. Motion to go into executive session for item 121. Second. Just a quick point of order. It looks like we have a raised hand.

So, we do have a motion from councelor Pller and a second from councelor Cojan. Comment from councelor Hammond. Uh, Mr. Mayor, I'm unclear why we're looking at going into executive session when we have an ordinance drafted, we have a contract drafted. I feel like we should be moving to discuss the ordinance in public.

Um, yeah, the the intent of the executive session is not to discuss the ordinance per se. That just approves the contract. Um, the council has a body has never reviewed this contract and had a chance to give feedback to staff. if you have concerns with the way that it was drafted or the terms or whatever. So, that's the intent of the executive session is to get feedback from council on the terms of the proposed amendment. Okay. So, I have no concerns and I'd like to make a counter motion that we approve ordinance 750-26. I would like to comment from councelor Roundree. Did you guys already vote? No, we haven't voted yet. com. We have a comment about that.

Well, I have a comment that I agree with Josh that part of this council approved the original contract and they saw that contract and then I just so I believe that I would like to have council in regards to this contract to have questions answered in negotiations because I was not on the board when you approved the original contract. We have a motion from councelor Cojan and a second from councelor Wait, I just said the wrong I had the motion. from Keller and the second from Cojan. All in favor to go into executive session say I. I. I. Any opposed.

She said nay. Yeah. Okay. Somehow it cut out. But we did. Councelor Hammond for nay. Okay. Um we will return after executive session. Do I need to put a time on that conference room? Because right now it's hot, but we're going to be in there for a long time. I'm going to [snorts] Take the jacket. Better not.

Oh, we're all here. For some reason, I was waiting for that last empty chair. There she is.

Hey, we are back on. We have returned from executive session. The time is 7:26. I will open our regular city council meeting. Um we are on ex item number 121. The ordinance 2550-26 amendment to existing purchase agreement with Tribal Hospitality portion of partial 8022005A south of Highway 98. Oh, and councelor Hammond, you have a Oh, wait just a moment. We need to have um city clerk introduce the ordinance by title.

An ordinance of the mayor and city council of the city of Paige, Cookanino County, Arizona, pertaining to the sale by negotiation of real property owned by the city of Paige and approving the amendment to the agreement for the purchase of real estate. Councelor Hammond, you had your hand up. Yes, Mr. Mayor. I move to adopt ordinance 750-26. Second. We have a motion from councelor Hammond and a second from councelor Pharaoh. Comments, questions out in the public. Councelor Hettinger.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, I want to start by re reiterating something that I think I said earlier tonight, which is that I have really enjoyed watching this process play out, getting the parks and recreation advisory board involved. Um, just the discussion that we've had around that. And then in particular, I want to call out Banks and Cody. They are on opposite sides of this issue and I got to watch them debate it for about an hour after the meeting and they approached it by um, arguing the merits of the case. They were both very passionate about the issue while still being respectful and um it never came to personal attacks. And I just would love to see more of that in the city. I would love to see us discuss things that we disagree on with passion and kindness. Um so anyway, I it's been a difficult decision, but it's also been really fun to see that um in action. From my perspective, one thing that I liked about the original agreement was that we had this idea that, you know, although we were getting rid of trails, we were going to move them to another location. But as we look with this amendment at moving and changing additional trails, and as I've talked to city staff and citizens, um, I'm just not sure that these particular trails can be moved easily or even at all to make something that's comparable. I really [snorts] like this project. I think it would be and will be great for Paige. Um I think the economic development that it brings in is really great and the way it elevates our tourism industry. I'm excited for that. But for this amendment in particular, I'm just really struggling with um the trails that are going away. So, it's been a tough call, but you know, it's been fun to watch it happen.

Somebody else had their hand up. Councelor Roundtree Kenneth says things so much better than I do, but I agree with everything that she said. This has been a very difficult decision for me. Um I have loved and I appreciate the the debate and um my decision and my vote tonight will have nothing to do with the fact that I'm excited about this project that I want it to be here. I want to see more projects like this in Paige. I think it's valuable to Paige. Um but I was on the group that helped establish this trail. So it's been a really tough decision for me. Any other comments?

Okay, with that I will We have a motion by Councelor Hammond and a second from Councelor Pharaoh. All Mr. Mayor, I Yes. apologize. I was a bit slow on my hand. Can I offer some comments?

Okay. Thank you. Um so I I just want to point out that for me this was a really difficult decision too. Um you know on the one hand we have a really beautiful trail system that in many ways is priceless. So much of our land is really priceless and um it's it's hard to even consider how you could um create a reciprocal system that that makes it fair to give up a portion of that. But on the other hand, we have a community that has struggled with growth for years. Um, I myself have children that I would love to see have opportunities to stay in in the town and have economic opportunities to grow up here and have a job and not simply turn 18 and look for for the next city that they're going to move to as many as so many of our youth do. Um, the projects that we're discussing is uh a a high-end resort that offers more than a 100 jobs at different levels of scale for people from entry level to management and leadership. I think that that is um incredible. The developers that are wanting to bring us this resort are a reputable company that have um successfully developed high-end resorts in other parts of the world. And so I uh they're known for philanthropy, for supporting the arts. I think that they're going to be good neighbors for a community, and overall um they support adventure tourism. It's an eco-friendly way for the community to have economic value. Um it's it's a bit of a shame that the economic development advisory board community members couldn't be here tonight because I think that they might have a a different perspective from our parks and recreation board members. We often get criticized for not listening to our boards, but we only heard from from one board tonight. So, that just adds another level of challenge to this um to this decision. I do want to point out a few factual things that were um mentioned earlier that were not entirely

accurate. We I received an email today with concerns about impacts to the disc golf course. This amendment will not impact the disc golf course at all. Um if we move forward tonight, we will retain approximately five miles of the existing 10 miles of trail on um Red Mesa. Our staff has already identified additional area to relocate and move new trails and the developer has offered us generous compensation so that um so that we can replace those trails with inkind trails either nearby or in other parts of the community. We did have some discussion and I would like for us to pursue this further about allocating the dollar amount from this amendment to the park rec board so that they can um decide the most appropriate way to spend this money so that we do improve quality of life with approximately $1.8 million um for our citizens at the same time improving economic opportunity. So um for all of those reasons I will be voting for this amendment tonight. Thank you, council.

I just want to reiterate that that that our votes won't reflect that we don't agree with a great deal of what council Hammond just said. We still agree with so much of what she said and what she iterated. That doesn't our votes tonight are about this ex amendment and little piece of property. That doesn't mean that we don't recognize all of the things that she said about this great group and how we feel about them and the asset to our community. and that I'm want to make it very clear that I'm in support and excited about um a partnership with this group and recognize the quality and grateful for a a group that has approached us with this type of thing. And I wish the citizens just knew the level that they have done and what they've done walking around our community talking to everyone and trying to get to understand our community and our community's needs. I don't know if anyone any developer has gone to as much effort as this group has done and I greatly appreciate it.

Councelor Hedinger.

Uh going back to councelor Hammond's comments as the parks and recreation advisory board liaison. I'm sure that our board has a lot of great ideas and um they've been discussing some things lately. So, I'm I'm sure they would love to have some earmarked money that um they can discuss as a board and really debate what we could use that for for the city. Um I I think semantically, you know, we can't give money to the board. It would all have to be approved under the city budget, but if we wanted to discuss a number tonight, um just make it as high as you can and I'm sure the parks and recreation board will be real happy. minus, you know, the the disappointment of these trails going away. Um, but I'm sure they'd be happy to look at other ways that that money could be used.

And I would suggest when we get to budget season, which is coming up really soon, there will be lots of money that we need to give to parks and recck for lots of things. I still want to see a pool and and this money is not even going to touch that. Um, but just in terms of tonight's deal and what we're talking about, I would love to see this um specific dollar amount that um that is going to cause us to lose certain portions of trail be reallocated to the citizens through parks and wreck. So $1.8 million when we get into budget season. Um I will I will make that ask again. All right, we have the motion and we have a second. I will ask for the vote on this very difficult question. All in favor say I.

I. I. And those opposed. Nay. Nay. We need a roll call vote, please. Mayor Kidman. I. Vice Mayor Pharaoh. I. Councelor Hammond. I. Councelor Peller. Nay. Councelor Hettinger. Nay. Councelor Roundtree. Nay. Councelor Cojan. Nay. [snorts]

With that, we are at the end of our meeting. I will adjourn this regular city council meeting. The time is 7:36 and our next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 5:30. Thank you.